Copperccino’s Coffee House to Open After Receiving Grant from Community Foundation
Copperccino’s, just down the street from the Capitol Theatre, and will be a true “coffee house”—a place to hang out, meet, listen to music, drink coffee and tea, and eat.
Rome Main Street Alliance is stepping up to fill a niche in the West Dominick Street Arts District with Copperccino’s Coffee House, phase one of its three-phase Main Street Market concept that will ultimately encompass the coffee house, a New York State craft product Emporium, and a brewpub.
Copperccino’s will open at 254 West Dominick Street, just down the street from the Capitol Theatre, and will be a true “coffee house”—a place to hang out, meet, listen to music, drink coffee and tea, and eat. The coffee house will feature Utica Bread’s line of artisan bread products, breakfast items such as croissants and quiches, and desserts from The Tailor and the Cook restaurant in Utica. Featured coffee roasters will be Rome’s Broasters Coffee, Utica Coffee Roasting Company, and Cafe Kubal and Recess Coffee from Syracuse. Special focus will be specialty cold brews and “nitro” coffees on tap.
“Think of a really hip brewpub but substitute great coffee for beer—that’s Copperccino’s,” says Katharine Rayland, Rome Main Street Alliance promotions chair.
The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties awarded Rome Main Street Alliance a $25,000 grant to purchase restaurant and coffee equipment for Copperccino’s. “We took note of Rome Main Streets’ plans for the Main Street Market as finalists in our Downtown Startup Challenge at thINCubator last fall,” says Community Foundation President/CEO Alicia Dicks. “This is a unique project because it bridges for profit and nonprofit business philosophies in new and meaningful ways. As many nonprofits face cuts from traditional funding sources, finding creative ways to generate revenue will be critical to their sustainability.”
“It is important that we create a critical mass of retail development in our downtown,” says David Amidon, president of Rome Main Street Alliance. “Our market research indicates a strong need for such a business in this district. Nearly 600 people work within a 5-minute walk of the storefront, hundreds live in the district, 30,000 cars pass within a block of the location daily and we have 100,000 people visiting Fort Stanwix yearly. The Capitol Theatre hosts over 1,200 events each year and routinely draws from 60 to 80 miles away. We are stepping up as part of our community to provide additional amenities for these people.”
Rome Main Streets plans a late spring opening of Main Street Market, first with Copperccino’s, then adding the shopping Emporium in early summer. They will also be hiring eight new employees to work in the Market in this initial phase. Keep watch on Main Street’s website: romemainstreets.org or its Facebook page for opening information and employment opportunities