HARTFORD, Conn. — At 95 Pratt St., the coffee is fresh and so is the ink.
It’s the new storefront in downtown Hartford with an unusual twist: a coffee shop up front and a tattoo parlor in the back.
Refuge Tattoos owner Yaritza Garrido said it’s an idea that’s been brewing in her mind for years.
“When we think of tattoos and how personal they are, one thing that I always realized was that to almost enhance the full experience of being able to make someone feel at home, something like coffee, or something coffee adjacent was going to be integral into being able to make the people feel the experience that I wanted them to feel," Yaritza Garrido said.
A total of $160,000 in funding from the “Hart Lift” city grant program made it all possible for Refuge Tattoos and Beans of Parkville Coffee Roasters, commonly known as BOP.
“It was a life-changing opportunity," Garrido said.
It’s the latest small business that has benefited from the community investment, joining more than 60 others that opened up shop in Connecticut’s Capital City in recent years.
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said it won’t be the last.
“There's so much vibrancy coming to this city bit by bit,” he said. “We're kind of building up each piece of the city, but Pratt Street has such energy and excitement.”
For BOP owner Jack Sullivan, the grant money meant he could expand his coffee roasting business beyond his Hartford home, where he has been selling micro-roasted coffee to the community since 2019.
Now, he can finally serve his unique brand of cup of Joe in an atmosphere customers won't soon forget.
“We want people to experience community (and) have a place to have conversations and share ideas with each other, all while appreciating really beautiful things like tattoos and coffee,” Sullivan said.
Java lovers poured inside for the storefront’s grand opening day April 19 and might leave with some body art on their next coffee run.
“You can tell that they both put a lot of love and time and energy into this business,” customer Sahar Amjad said. “That’s what I love about coming to small businesses in general is like being able to see the heart and the passion that gets put into it.”
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Bridgette Bjorlo is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at bbjorlo@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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