La Paloma Sabanera Coffeehouse & Bookstore, Hartford, CT

La Paloma Sabanera Coffeehouse & Bookstore invites visitors to sit long, talk much and laugh often. Which is exactly what the owners had intended. Serving the finest fair trade coffees inside a cozy niche in downtown Hartford, CT, the business is realizing its vision of becoming a vital part of the community.

The glass front is often filled with flyers and posters promoting local cultural events. Inside, rich coffee aromas fill the air contained by a preserved tin roof ceiling. At once, the visitor feels the warmth of ideas and energy that makes La Paloma Sabanera unique.

The story begins with a tight-knit family from Cidra, Puerto Rico: Luis Edgardo Cotto, his four sisters Carmen Cotto-Stanford, Leticia Cotto-Hilliman, Melanie Cotto, Cinthia Cotto and honorary family member Brendan Mahoney. Even before this collective family endeavor, Luis Cotto was an asset to the city through his work with the Charter Oak Cultural Center and Sierra Club.

The coffeeshop & bookstore was an opportunity to combine all of the family member's talents, creativity and unique perspectives on community. Inspired by an endangered species only found in Cidra, the name La Paloma Sabanera translates to the dove of the plains. The name is a significant part of the owner's collective identity as well as a symbol of the coffeehouse's role in Hartford.

The idea was to create a "third place," an informal social center. More than just caffeine, La Paloma Sabanera serves the community with a place to form connections, to relax and to enrich the mind. The owner's claim "a combination of national pride and social consciousness guides our coffee selections" and serve only the finest fair trade, organic coffees from Puerto Rico, Central and South America. The rich coffees are complemented by tasty homemade pastries and delicious sandwiches.