A former paralegal held a grand opening for her newest coffee shop, Latte Soul, on Sept. 22 in Hamden.
“I want everyone to know that anything that they can probably dream of … can be possible,” said Shelena Cruz, the owner of Latte Soul. “It might seem like it’s not (be)cause for a long time, for me, it didn’t not seem like I was gonna have something like this … (but) it’s happening.”
The newly opened Latte Soul Coffee Shop is located on 3450 Whitney Avenue, next to notable favorites, Tonino’s Pizza and Fresh Greens & Protein. The coffee shop’s main focus is selling lattes, but also sells plant-based tea, energy drinks and organic pastries.
The interior of Latte Soul is very modern and artistic. It includes a bright pink wall, a floral wall with a swing – perfect for pictures – and two bright neon signs: “latte soul” and “find your soul.” The shop’s niche is something Cruz thought about carefully when designing the space.
“I wanted something fun, I wanted something bright … as a feminist and a woman you feel so empowered just because it’s your own space,” Cruz said. “I wanted something comforting, I wanted something to catch your eye at first … something cute.”
Besides Latte Soul, there are well-known coffee shops along Whitney Ave., including Whitney Donut and Sandwich Shop, Ground Up Hamden and Starbucks.
“I have tried Ground Up but the difference between Ground Up and Latte Soul is that Latte Soul has more unique flavors to their drinks,” said Olivia Galway, a junior public relations major and social media strategy minor.
Cruz believes that her sacrifices are what sets her shop apart.
“I have a lot of soul into this. I have a lot of emotions, I have a lot of sacrifices (and) tears in everything that I’ve put into,” Cruz said.
The North Haven native graduated from Central Connecticut State University with her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, and worked as a paralegal for injuries and real estate for about six years. Around this time, she purchased her first espresso machine and made coffee for her husband’s barber shop clients.
Although she was nervous about owning her own shop, Cruz’s husband reassured her to pursue her passion.
“I saw how much stress (being a paralegal) was bringing her (and I told her) you gotta be (a) boss,” Luigy Molina said. “I was like ‘You’re ready … you got this.’”
Molina took a two-day barista class and works as a barista at Latte Soul — as well as being a full-time barber — to support his wife.
Cruz quit her job as a paralegal and began her journey when she got the permit for her coffee shop. This first started with choosing a coffee bean to use.
“It was a lot of trial and error … and then the more research I did, the more I looked into what makes a good coffee,” Cruz said.
Cruz tried over 20 different coffee beans and found Colombian beans to have the perfect taste.
“This is my passion. This is something that I wanted to do for the last five years or more. It’s something that I’ve dreamed of,” Cruz said. “The coffee smell gives me comfort especially cause I’ve been drinking it my whole life … and I was just always nervous (because) it’s a big leap to do from the type of job that I did.”
Originally, Cruz was going to name the shop, “A Latte for the Soul,” since it’s something she says often, but stuck with Latte Soul.
“I decided to try Latte Soul because I live in Connecticut and saw them working on (the building) over the summer, and I was excited to try it and see what it was about,” said Courtney Ciszewski, a junior psychology major.
Ciszewski purchased the cookie butter latte, which consists of iced latte, cold brew and cookie butter cold foam. For Ciszewski’s first time, she says she “would come (to Latte Soul) again.”
The couple have already seen customers become regulars, coming in at least twice a day.
“They made really good recommendations to us on what to try and really made sure we had a great time,” Galway said.
Latte Soul is open 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and is “CLOSED TO REST THE SOUL” on Sundays, as advertised on their Instagram. The first 100 customers will receive a free Latte Soul mug.
