Open for business at its 330 Main Street location since Oct. 8, Javapalooza is Webster’s take on the familiar coffeehouse concept.
“You can get coffee anywhere,” Webster said. “You can get coffee at a Mobil station. But what we want to do is give you a coffee experience, and not that hassle, not that attitude.”
Webster, who refers to himself as “Principal” on his business card, said he is trying to teach tolerance in an industry and culture all too often aligned with snobbery and biting condescension.
“I came from Starbucks and I really got kind of tired of the corporate environment,” he said. “It started out as a very good company – and it still is – but in order to be ourselves we had to move out. So an opportunity arose and that’s what we did. We started our own business.”
Inside the shop paintings of the ocean and other natural images by a West Hartford artist bring in the outdoors. The shop is filled with couches, tables, chairs and a piano. There is a raised section in front of the large storefront window that doubles as a stage for Friday and Saturday night entertainment.
“Main Street is a happening place,” Webster said. “I think it’s a very, very cool place, especially with the outdoor seating. I think it could use a very good coffee shop.”
Javapalooza serves a wide assortment of coffees, coffee beans, desserts, pastries and, believe it or not, wind-up tin robots.
There are roughly six types of retro toys for sale, not to mention the talking stuffed primate that hangs from a doorway behind the counter. Tall bookshelves house the robots as well as a variety of other faux-vintage toys and an impressive array of coffee beans.
“We’re a coffee shop that sells coffee – it sounds like a Seinfeld episode, but that’s what it is,” Webster said. “What we’re gonna do is give customers […] a real option of what they can purchase.”
Included in those options are Javapalooza thermoses and Nalgenes, a variety of drinks other than coffee and an array of coffee to make a dental hygienist cringe.
At the very back of the store are more secluded seating options, with walls adorned with black and white photographs of Sonny Rollins, Dave Brubeck and other jazz icons.
Despite his new-kid status, Webster is not worried about competition. He sees fellow Main Street coffee shop Brew Bakers as a different style of operation all together, one dealing primarily in breakfast and lunch food. Klekolo’s World Coffee, around the corner on Court Street, did not even register on his radar of possible competitors, he said.
“[Javapalooza has a] totally different vibe,” said Klekolo devotee Stephanie Boyle ’02. “It won’t affect business here at all.”
Away from the oppressive confines of his old employer, Webster confidently boasts.
“We’re cheaper than Starbucks, and our product is better,” he said.
Javapalooza is open until 9 p.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. on weekends.