By Michael Coughlin Jr.
Will Isaza, born and raised in East Boston, joined the Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association’s (JPNA) monthly meeting last week to present his concept for a café called Café Gloria Coffee and Espresso Bar at 287 Maverick Street.
Isaza is proposing to rezone the current property on Maverick Street from a retail space to a restaurant and café space with seating and takeout.
In talking about the concept of the café, Isaza likened it to an internet café, saying, “Part of our initial research for the café was sort of filling the gaps and the voids in the neighborhood, in Jeffries Point in particular and having a place where especially during the daytime where a lot of residents work from home nowadays can kind of hang out have sort of like an internet café sort of vibe.”
Moreover, the concept of the café also stems from Isaza’s success in the Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition in 2019, in which he placed top 16 in the world for his cocktail, Gloria.
The flavor combination from his world-renowned cocktail will come to the café as its signature drink.
“Taking those flavors and that concept and telling my story is how the café came to be as a brick-and-mortar concept. A huge ingredient in the cocktail itself was coffee and was native Colombian coffee as well, so that’s how we landed kind of here now,” said Isaza.
It should be noted Isaza acknowledged that while there has been some confusion because “bar” is associated with the concept, he said, “There’s actually no liquor license, no alcohol that’s going to be in effect at the café.”
“Merely the expression is so people can feel like they have a space to come and hang out and be within the community,” said Isaza.
According to Isaza, the plans for the café would be to have a selection of different coffee and espresso drinks along with food.
In discussing the drink selection, Isaza said the café seeks to use modern and innovative techniques that fall in line with the cocktail world. For example, he mentioned using and making their own syrups and more.
As for food, recipes will be curated from Isaza’s mother, Gloria Manrique. “We are seeking to do something a little bit more homey, a little bit more homegrown, and make it feel like you’re enjoying something in someone’s living room,” said Isaza.
A sample menu was also shown, which included items like specialty drinks, such as the Latte Gloria, classic coffee drinks, rice bowls, sweets, and more.
There are also plans for a grab-and-go station where the specialty drinks could be pre-bottled or canned if you are in a rush.
Other information to note is that this proposal did go through an abutters meeting this month, and there was a concern over a potential bottleneck being created on the street due to the use of delivery services like Uber Eats or DoorDash out of the café.
However, Isaza said he would contact the parking clerk, asking to take the first two parking spaces in front of the café to be designated as a pickup and dropoff space.
Moreover, the planned hours for the café are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Regarding staffing, Isaza said there are plans for two people working in the kitchen and two in the front taking orders and executing coffee orders.
Further, capacity is limited to 16 people in the space, so there are only plans for 12 seats in the café.
“Our hope is that there is going to be a revolving door of takeout and coffees to go and things like that, but the majority of the seating will be on a countertop, as mentioned, internet café style,” said Isaza.
As this was the first meeting with the JPNA, Isaza will have to come back to the association for a vote. According to Co-Chair Margaret Farmer, the vote will happen next month.