PLAINVILLE -- Specialty coffee shops have been perking up the coffee scene here in Connecticut and nationwide.
“The coffee industry is definitely changing,” said Harrison Poltorak, Owner and Operator for Rebel Dog Coffee Co.
In 2017, it was time for a change for Poltorak and his business partner, who would create Rebel Dog Coffee Company.
“My business partner, Peter Lemnotis, owned a restaurant in Plainville. It’s called Confetti Restaurant. He owned it for 20 years, and after a while, he decided it needed to be changed and rebranded, and so he had the idea to open a coffee shop in the front part of the restaurant,” said Poltorak.
That Plainville location opened two years ago, not knowing what to expect. With a great response from the community, Farmington opened this year.
“This location in Farmington, it’s the Five Corners intersection, which is known to be a busy intersection, but there’s also a lot of office parks, a lot of residential that was underserved for food and beverage options in the area, so we just saw that this corner was going to be a home run,” said Poltorak.
Freshly made breakfast food and lunch options are now available on Colt Highway.
“We definitely get people coming in just for food on their lunch breaks, but then you see them getting interested in the menu with the pour-overs, French presses, single-origin coffees, and for me that’s very exciting wanting to connect the people here with the people growing the coffee in coffee-producing countries,” said Kaitlin Higgins, Digital and Community Coordinator for Rebel Dog Coffee Co.
That passion from both behind and in front of the counter has led to Rebel Dog’s success, keeping it growing in Connecticut.
“I think businesses that are successful now that I’ve seen grow just as much as we have, kind of really understand the fundamentals of operating a good business – having a good product, good price, good people behind the counter serving, it keeps people coming back,” said Poltorak.