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September 5, 2024

Immigrant cousins from Ecuador pour life savings into new Hartford cafe

Michael Puffer Michelle Castro, 21, (left) and her cousin, Diana Barreia, 22, hope to open their new quaint and cute coffee shop, Cafe Amore, at 385 Main St. in Hartford by late September.
By Michael Puffer

Diana Barreia, 22, and her cousin, Michelle Castro, 21, immigrated to Connecticut from Ecuador in search of a more promising future. 

After saving up about $80,000 over five years working as baristas in a Shelton coffee shop, the pair are taking a shot at opening their own quaint café near downtown Hartford.

Barreia and Castro have spent the past year preparing to open a roughly 1,200-square-foot space on the first floor of the 28-unit “Capitol Living” apartment building at 385 Main St., across from the Butler-McCook House & Garden, an 18th-century house that serves as a museum.

With some elbow grease from family, the cousins have transformed a former cell phone store next to the Rinconcito Peruano restaurant into a cute space with intimate tables, framed romantic art and plants smartly incorporated into the décor. Canvas coffee bean bags have been unfurled and stretched across the ceiling.

Barreia said she wanted to make the spot an attractive place for couples.

“I’m kind of a romantic person,” she explained.

Café Amore will serve an array of coffee using beans from Kenya, Columbia and elsewhere, as well as fresh pastries.

Barreia and Castro had hoped to open this week but have been held up by a city inspection that cited the need for covers on a thermostat control and light fixture. They now aim to open in late September.

Landlord Shlomo "Sam" Sarot expressed frustration with the delay, which he said, was the latest in a series prompted by the city.

“It’s two young girls who are spending their life’s savings,” Sarot said. “Why don’t you help these people?”

Sarot and a partner paid $3.97 million for the 160-year-old building at 385 Main St., early last year. Sarot said he has spent a little more than $200,000 sprucing up apartments, common areas and the building’s exterior, including new lighting and signs.

Sarot said a boutique clothing shop has signed up to lease the third retail space in his Main Street building.

The new coffee shop will be an attractive addition that will add charm to the building and surrounding area, Sarot said.

“I like to take stressed properties and put my heart and soul in them and create chances for young people,” he said. 

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