Meet CLO: Journal Square's Newest Coffee Shop

JERSEY CITY, NJ —The COVID-19 pandemic forced a lot of businesses to close, but in Journal Square, CLO Coffee Co. was one of the few businesses to open its doors during the pandemic.

"We're very excited to reintroduce the true coffee experience," Ralph Angeles, CLO owner said. CLO has two locations, one in Journal Square at 97 Newkirk Street and the other in Edison, both opened during the pandemic.

"Before we opened the first location the goal was to open a second one," Angeles said, "My thinking was if we were going 10 miles per hour before COVID then now we'll go 2 miles per hour but let's keep going."

Angeles cites CLO Coffee's mission as delivering excellent coffee and spreading kindness. The coffee is made with Ethiopian beans and Angeles said he and his staff pay close attention to the water quality for brewing and the grind size for the beans.

"I would rather pull two or three shots if it means I give someone the perfect cup," Angeles said.

CLO came to Jersey City when the CMPND offices in Journal Square reached out to Angeles because they liked the business and felt it aligned with the CMPND brand. The Jersey City location opened in November.

Along with traditional coffee shop seating and ambiance, CLO offers co-working spaces through CMPND and special booths in the back of the shop for customers to rent for private meetings, working or just time alone. The booths look similar to phone booths and have become especially popular through the pandemic, Angeles said, as people look for new places to work remote while keeping socially distant and safe.

There are three booths at the Journal Square location and all are soundproof and disinfected after each use. It's $15 an hour to rent a booth and 10 percent off your coffee order.

"A lot of people have been using the rooms to conduct interviews, teach classes," Angeles said. "I have a boxing instructor that actually taught a class in the booth."

Angeles said he hopes to see more growth for CLO in the next year and maybe even another location in Journal Square.

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