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Ale_Pacino t1_jbj406y wrote

More retail/grocery options in downtown area that don't need accessibility by car - Target isn't cutting it.

Similar to the above, there needs to be more retail (or coffee, eateries etc.) in all the ground-floor areas of these major apartment buildings. Atlantic Station is finally putting in a Fresh & Co, but there's still a ton of open space left that's going unused, and the same goes for a lot of other buildings.

Main quality of life improvement would be less traffic congestion, but that seems impossible at this point.

Would also love to see more family-owned coffee shops open up.

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colenotphil t1_jbk6tdw wrote

I don't necessarily know the ownership structures but there are plenty of non-massive-chain coffee shops in Stamford.

  • Lorca on Bedford appears to be a single location and likely locally owned.
  • Winfield St Coffee in the Library is not family owned but there's only 9 locations, it's better than the Starbucks it took over the space from.
  • Turning Point has 2 locations in town and roasts its own coffee, and I believe is locally owned.
  • Humbled Coffee on Hope Street is almost definitely locally owned.
  • BonJo on Elm St is also a local roaster and I believe locally owned.

Granted only 2 of these have prime downtown locations but still.

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Pinkumb t1_jbk8clz wrote

Lorca is locally owned. She used to have a Cos Cob location but it closed during the pandemic.

Turning Point is locally owned.

Honey Joe's on Broad Street is locally owned.

Winfield is locally owned.

Humbled and BonJo are too but they're not downtown.

Unfortunately there's enough competition more coffee doesn't make sense but I am personally dissatisfied with almost all of them. I find Honey Joe's to be the most acceptable because they offer La Colombe. Lorca is inconsistent. Turning Point is very acidic. Winfield is absolute trash.

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colenotphil t1_jbk9f6k wrote

Interesting to read your perspective on Turning Point, I love their beans and buy them regularly and haven't had this issue.

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Pinkumb t1_jbkcw6h wrote

Maybe they've changed or have a revolving door of baristas so there was a string that was very acidic. I just remember summer 2019 getting an iced coffee there and it tasted so sour and an hour later I felt like I was having a heart attack. Kinda turned me off.

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Ale_Pacino t1_jblppnk wrote

This^^^*** - to correct my original reply, yes there are some, but honestly nothing too impressive and/or inexpensive. Winfield's cold brew is Rise, Honey Joe's is La Colombe, and in general they just seem very pricey is all.

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antiqueboi t1_jcnbb1k wrote

they aren't putting one in. fresh &co leased the space from them. The reason all the storefronts are empty is that it's not profitable to open any businesses there.

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