Date: Fri 05-Sep-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Basset's-Gillotti-coffee

Full Text:

(preview of Basset's Coffee House, 9/5/97)

Owners Of New Coffee House Are Hoping For A Howlin' Success

(with cuts)

Better latte than never.

BY SHANNON HICKS

BROOKFIELD - In a land of convenience stores and gas stations, Jamie and Matt

Gillotti have opened a warm and inviting storefront business at the "Four

Corners" intersection of Routes 7 and 25 in Brookfield. Basset's, the couple's

coffee house, will celebrate its grand opening this weekend, ten days after

the young twentysomethings quietly opened their doors for business.

The object of Basset's - in addition to serving up caffeine-infused drinks of

all varieties, both hot and cold, along with baked goods, sandwiches and other

refreshments - is to help people unwind a little (an oxymoron somewhat,

considering many of the drinks being served include caffeine, but a comforting

idea nevertheless).

Basset's is located in the 1,100-square-foot double-storefront at 806 Federal

Road that was the former home of SAGA, an art gallery. Jamie and Matt Gillotti

have converted the interior of their new business into two distinct areas.

When entering the business, the room to the left is a living room setting; to

the right is a cafe area. The serving counters are in the rear of the cafe

section.

"We wanted people to feel as though they'd walked into somebody's kitchen," is

how Jamie Gillotti explains the makeover she and her husband have applied to

the double storefront's interior. "Or that they have walked into their own

living rooms.

"We want everyone who comes here to be completely relaxed and feel at home all

the time with us."

Basset's serves a variety of coffees and teas. On the menu are coffees,

espressos, cappuccinos and latte - the staples of any coffee house.

"Coffee beans and espresso beans are essentially the same thing," Jamie said

last weekend. Seven days away from the business' official grand opening, Jamie

had taken a break to sit in one of the very comfortable couches in the living

room area of Basset's to talk about the business she and her husband have

opened.

"Espresso beans tend to be a little harder and the quality of the bean tends

to be a bit higher, giving it its stronger taste," she continued. Jamie has

always loved coffee, husband Matt was trained in the kitchen and has always

wanted his own restaurant, so the couple's choice of opening this business was

a cinch.

Espressos contain a strong shot of coffee, usually three-quarters of an ounce

to a full ounce. For a cappuccino, an espresso shot is added to half a cup of

steamed milk and half a cup of frothed milk.

A latte is three-quarters of a cup of steamed milk, with a quarter cup of

frothed milk. Latte drinkers also have the option of adding a shot of flavored

syrup to their latte.

One of the more unusual offerings on the Basset's menu is a drink called a

breve. An extremely rich drink, Jamie says, a breve is similar to a latte in

its preparation except it is made with half & half. Breves are not common -

devoted coffee drinkers know about them, but most places do not advertise them

because they are so unpopular. A breve's biggest drawback is its caloric and

fat counts, both of which are very high due to the amount of cream that goes

into the drink.

"You see a lot more people asking for a `no-fun type of drink,' which is no

caffeine and no fat," Jamie said. "So we see a lot of everything else instead

of the breve.

"But if someone wants it, it's there for the asking."

Basset's also has frozen cappuccinos, a very slushy kind of sweet drink that

is not to be mistaken with the new drink being offered by the Dunkin' Donuts

chain called Coffee Coolattas, contends Jamie.

Another cold offering on the Basset's menu is lemon ice. And then there is

something called an Italian soda. For $2, customers can choose a syrup flavor

of their choice - these are the same syrups customers can choose from for

their latte flavorings - and have it added to seltzer, over ice. The result is

a flavored soda-like drink, but without the heaviness that usually comes from

a cola or even most fruit flavored sodas.

Syrups include creme de menthe and Irish creme ("Although I don't recommend

those," Jamie said. "I'd go with the fruit flavors."), orange, raspberry,

blackberry, banana and root beer. Also available, but probably better reserved

for the hot lattes rather than the cold sodas, are caramel, almond, hazelnut,

chocolate and amaretto flavorings.

Lemon ices are found on the menu, as is hot chocolate in a variety of flavors.

The recent UPS drivers' strike had an effect on the new business. Until last

Thursday, the Gillottis were being forced to use leased machines to make their

hot drinks. While that was a minor inconvenience, the couple was still able to

get used to the workings of the machines until their permanent ones arrived.

Basset's is also set up to satisfy customers that arrive looking for something

to eat. Every morning, a variety of fresh-baked breads and bagels are

delivered from Arthur Avenue in New York, while assorted pastries and cookies

are also brought in daily, from Little Italy. Muffins are also seen in the

display case on the serving counter, as are danish.

Matt has worked as a chef at the Candlewood Inn in Brookfield and most

recently Keltie's Bum Steer in Brewster, N.Y., before starting Basset's. At

Basset's, he is in charge of making gourmet cream cheeses, as well as the

daily batches of chicken and tuna salads, then putting together the food

orders when customers come in. A Basset's Picnic Lunch consists of chicken or

tuna salad on a bagel, with potato chips and a pickle, for $4.

A Pregnant Pause

Jamie Gillotti has not had a cup of coffee for eight months. She and Matt are

expecting their first child in about four weeks (they already know it's a

girl), which has made getting the business off the ground a little more taxing

for the wife than the husband. But she has managed very well.

"It's not a lot of fun when you're working in a coffee house," she said with a

laugh last weekend. "It's been wearing on both of us, because we've been

working long hours."

Jamie and Matt have typically been putting in 15-hour days since March,

working at the shop itself from 5:30 am to 11 pm, on top of a commute to

Ridgefield every morning and evening.

"But it's definitely worth it," she said. "You have to work for what you

really want in life. And we really want this, so we're willing to do anything

for it."

Jamie has an office set up in the back of Basset's, where the baby will be

spending much of her time once she is born.

"For the most part, she'll be hanging around with us," Jamie said. "I really

think kids need to be with their parents, especially at such a young age, so

I'm going to try to not separate us for very long. But I will cut down on the

hours quite a bit. We'll be bringing in someone part-time."

The Gillottis feel the area where they have opened shop is "untapped" by the

coffee house craze that has been moving back and forth across the country in

recent years. The biggest difference between their setting and many of the

older coffee houses is that the Gillottis have consciously pulled away from

what Jamie calls "Seattle grungy style" - dark little nooks thrown together

with piecemeal furniture and sometimes in fairly shabby surroundings.

Instead, she and Matt have turned the former Southwestern art gallery/jewelry

store into an inviting New England setting. Warm, creamy colors were used to

cover the walls and counter spaces. Counters for customers to sit at were

built by Matt, as was the center service counter where customers can help

themselves to the various sugars and creamers for their drinks.

Big Band music was playing in the background last weekend. A television was

playing in one corner of the living room area, its remote close at hand.

Magazines were spread across the large dogbone-shaped coffee table set between

a matching couch and loveseat. Three Ansel Adams prints have been hung behind

the couch. New carpeting runs from wall to wall.

A mini library runs across the back of the business, complete with a pair of

burgundy wing-backed chairs and a reading lamp. Next to the chairs is a

bubbling fish tank. Opposite the fish tank is a counter where more patrons can

sit, with comfortable barstools to sit upon.

To the left of the entrance, there is a children's area with toys for the

youngest visitors. The children's area, where the floor is slightly raised

from the rest of the floor, also doubles as the stage area where musicians

will be performing. Originally the Gillottis had planned on featuring music on

weekends only, but performers have been coming in and eagerly saying they

would like to perform any night of the week as well. A sign in the business'

front window will alert customers and passersby when music will be performed.

The cafe area has a tiled floor, and with an open front window, seems much

brighter than the calmer living room area. About a dozen antique iron-bottomed

tables take up most of the floor space. Customers are invited to sit and visit

in either section of the coffee house for as long as they please. Like the

setting of a Barnes & Noble Booksellers store, the Gillottis will welcome

customers who want to linger.

The front window of the shop features a Lionel train setup, complete with

church, a few houses and shops.

"We've been collecting the [trains] for quite some time," Matt said. "We had

no room for it [at home], so when we built this place we made sure there would

be plenty of room to display it."

Beyond the machines that are going to be used to make the coffees, espressos

and cappuccinos, Bassett's features a display of pieces that look right at

home: a growing collection of tea and coffee pots Jamie has been collecting.

Mr Stanley & The Hounds

Matt and Jamie own four Basset hounds, all of whom the couple have rescued

from abusive homes.

Mr Stanley, the couple's latest adoption, is 8« years old and has been through

five families in six years. When Jamie and Matt first got him, Mr Stanley was

very timid and shy. He has taken quite a liking to Jamie in particular,

following her around everywhere when she's home.

"We were trying to think of a name [for the business] one night, and he looked

up at us with these bright brown eyes - most Bassets have dark brown eyes,

almost black eyes, and his are a very light shade of brown," Jamie explained.

"He looked up and they were so sad looking, and Matt just knew that had to be

the name."

While the couple knew they couldn't possibly name their new business after one

of their dogs, there was an easy solution: call the business, simply,

Basset's.

"I definitely have a tender spot in my heart for him," she said. "He's

definitely our little mascot." The couple plans to use the image of Mr Stanley

on mugs and T-shirts they will be selling in the near future.

Jamie and Matt have worked with a few different groups that save abused dogs -

either dogs that are being physically abused, or dogs whose owners realize

they can no longer take care of the dogs properly. Basset hounds may be

personified as sleepy, do-little dogs, Jamie says, but they are not very easy

to take care of. Bassets are hunting and running dogs that do not like to be

left alone (Jamie's parents take care of the couple's dogs during the day).

And they bark. A lot.

"They howl," Jamie says. "They howl really bad, so you have to have

understanding neighbors or live away from people.

"But they are great dogs."

So far, Jamie and Matt have been sent out to look at five Basset hounds for

placement in safer homes. Their job is to check on the dogs, and then find a

new home for them. But, says Jamie, things haven't worked quite that way.

"We haven't been able to get rid of any of them. We love them all," she said

with a laugh. Which is how they have come to own five of the dogs so far

(their first adopted Basset, Beulah, recently died of complications that

stemmed back to abuse she suffered as a pup at the hands of her first owner).

Basset's Coffee House will hold its official grand opening Saturday, September

8. The grand opening will include live music all day, provided by Jade 42 and

Atlas, among others. Entertainment will also include spoken word and poetry

readings, tai chi and kempo demonstrations by Karate America, a school Jamie

attends in Bethel, and activities for children.

"I'm nervous and excited at the same time," said Jamie. "But things have been

going fantastic so far, and everybody has been very positive. This is a

friendly area, and we're having a good time here."

Basset's is at 806 Federal Road/Route 7 in Brookfield, near the "four corners"

intersection with Route 25. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 6 am-10 pm;

Friday and Saturday, 6 am-11 pm; and Sunday, 8 am-5 pm. The coffee house can

be reached by calling 775-4957.