Two Wrasslin' Cats Proves to be Popular East Haddam Destination

Editor's note: The original article stated that this business received their baked goods from a local bakery, but that was incorrect. Two Wrasslin’ Cats makes their baked goods in-house. The article has been amended to reflect that correction.

Since opening their doors about a month ago, Two Wrasslin' Cats, a coffee house and cafe in East Haddam, has received a great reception from visitors, and owner Mark Thiede hopes to continue to grow the coffee house into a 'East Haddam destination.'

Thiede, who currently lives in Killingworth, wasn't always in the coffee business, but he's been thinking about coffee for quite some time now, he told Patch in a recent interview. 

"I worked for a pharmaceutical company for about 20 years and actually have a PhD in the area," Thiede said. "And after a while, I started thinking about what I could do when my job would come to a close. When my division closed up in January 2012, my goal was to get away from getting corporate America."

During the 90s when he was employed at his company, Thiede frequently traveled to Seattle, which sparked his thinking about opening a specialty coffee house with a bakery. 

"I had no prior experience, and there have been some interesting challenges, but the response has been tremendous," Thiede explains. 

Since he was new to the game, Thiede attended the American Barista and Coffee School, in the Coffee District, a school that teaches hands on training on the coffee business. 

Thiede said his biggest challenge along the way was how long the process took.

"When it came to watching the construction, it was so hard to wait," he said. "We also had to go through rezoning, state approval for some things. First we thought we would open in March, that got pushed to April."

One think that wasn't such as issue was naming the spot: It actually comes from Thiede's practice home brewing before the business was opened. 

"When I was at home practicing brewing, I made up a fictitious name for my 'company,' and it was named after my two cats, Bruno and Larry, who were always, well, wrestling," Thiede explains.

But when Thiede opened Two Wrasslin' Cats, he knew he wanted it to be more than a simple coffee house.

"When we first opened, we had open walls," he said. "One day, a photographer came in with his girlfriend and they asked if they put pictures up. So now, it has become a great place to showcase local art. And we plan to change the displays every month or so."

The owner also hopes to open up the two rooms in front of the house on the property for an extended art display. He also plans on putting more picnic tables outside.

"I'm also hoping to hosts events like open mic nights and poetry readings," he shared. "Local cartoonist Roger Straub has already agreed to do a demonstration for us as well. Tuesday morning's in July, we'll be hosting morning yoga as well." 

"Right now we're fine tuning everything, but we really want to open up this space for people to schedule time to really use it," Thiede continued. "I really want this to be a place for everyone- a place that everyone is going to be welcomed.”

And while the space continues to grow, don't forget they'll be offering amazing food choices. Right now, the coffee house features fresh baked goods made in house and scrumptious coffee options from experienced barista Jasmine Yuris. 

While the business currently doesn't have a grill, their breakfast sandwiches and other breakfast items are available until about 11 AM, and then they offer lunch, which features a make-your-own sandwiches selection, and two specialty sandwiches a day. They do offer some vegetarian and gluten-free options, and they have a plan to expand those offerings as well. 

"I've learned so much along the way, this is really all about the process and the people I've met," Thiede concluded. "And we are still learning so we would love to hear any suggestions from residents!"

Check out their Facebook page for more information and be sure to 'like' them to keep updated!