New Family Coffee Shop Opens In Downtown Stamford

STAMFORD, CT — A few years ago, Susan Krissel and her husband would often go on dates to coffee shops. They would have a cup of coffee, enjoy "wonderful conversation" and just relax.

According to Krissel, going out for coffee became more of a challenge after having kids.

"They can't sit still, and they run around and scream," Krissel said in a phone interview with Patch. (To sign up for Stamford breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

Missing the ambiance, and quality coffee, they used to enjoy on those dates, the couple decided to open their own shop that offers a child-friendly experience. The result is Honey Joe's Family Coffeehouse, a community hub for people of all ages that opened July 2 on Broad Street in downtown Stamford.

According to Krissel, Honey Joe's aims to fuse the idea of an "adult" coffee shop with a kid-friendly entertaining space. While the spacious building features an elegant coffee shop on one side, there is also an indoor playground area where kids can climb, slide and play.

"Almost half of our [space] is devoted to a play space for kids," Krissel said, "so parents and caregivers can take their coffee, sit in the play area and enjoy their coffee while the kids run around."

While both areas are divided by glass, they are not completely separated. This allows adults without kids to enjoy their coffee in the shop without feeling overwhelmed by the play area.

"We have a lot of space," Krissel said, "so it feels like a spacious, welcoming and warm atmosphere where you can sit and chat with your friends."

The menu at Honey Joe's offers draft lattes, cold brew drinks, espresso and more made with premium La Colombe coffee, a Philadelphia-based coffee roaster and retailer. One notable menu item is the draft latte, which features La Colombe's signature oat milk latte on tap and infused with nitrous oxide to maintain the creamy texture of a hot latte in cold form.

"Usually lattes are just regular milk and ice, so you don't get the creaminess that you would get in a hot latte," Krissel said. "This gives you that creaminess and a little bit of sweetness with the oat milk by just putting the nitrous oxide through it."

There are also menu items kids can enjoy, such as smoothies, cold brew milkshakes and even an ice cream sundae.

When choosing a location for her new community hub, Krissel found herself drawn to the city's downtown area. A resident of Stamford, she and her family often walk downtown together.

"We frequent the downtown a lot," Krissel said. "There's not a ton of coffee shops in downtown Stamford, and there's not a lot for kids to do either; so that's what drew us to the area."

The shop took almost two years to shape from idea to reality, an experience made complicated by the spread of the coronavirus.

"Our concept is evolving with the current regulations," Krissel said. "It's a little bit tough to know how to advertise and market [the shop], because there's a fair number of people that still aren't ready to come inside a place or to play."

Krissel said the original plan for the play area was a "drop and play" experience for children. Due to current health guidelines and restrictions put in place to combat the spread of the virus in Connecticut, the owners have been forced to reevaluate this idea in some ways.

Currently, the play area is available for families to rent, either for themselves or with other groups they feel comfortable sharing the space with. The area is then disinfected before anyone uses it and immediately after.

"It's different from our original very accessible, very affordable drop-in play area for the downtown population idea," Krissel said. "We have to cover the cost of all the cleaning. We would clean it every day anyway, but this is a little more involved."

Another idea that has evolved is the shop's "den" area, which was originally intended as a space to hold classes, such as kids yoga and music classes, and for businesses to rent for meetings. The den is now being advertised as a rentable home office away from home.

"Our impression is a lot of people are getting a little sick of their little offices at home now that everyone has to continue to work from home," Krissel said, "so to have a private spot where you can focus, but also have access to great coffee, is pretty appealing."

The den is available to rent by hour, day or week.

Honey Joe's also has options for customers who don't feel comfortable coming inside. Orders can be placed online, or through the coffee shop's app, and brought outside to patrons.

Krissel also urges anyone who does feel comfortable to come inside and enjoy the spacious area.

"We're taking all the precautions," Krissel said. "When you come inside, it feels safe and spacious, and we're trying to keep a clean atmosphere so people feel comfortable."

She also anticipates being able to open the shop a little closer to the owners' original vision as soon as it is safe to do so.

"This is different than we had originally anticipated," Krissel said. "We still are very hopeful that we'll be able to achieve our original vision; we're just going to have to start a little slower than we initially anticipated."