SPACES & PLACES IN NEW HAVEN ■
OWL TERRITORY
NEW HAVEN
WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME — AND YOUR ORDER A SOUTHERN GRAD TURNS A COURSE ASSIGNMENT INTO ERO CAFÉ, NEW HAVEN’S COZY, MATCHA- AND CAFFEINE-FUELED COMMUNITY HUB.
By Beth Levine hen Emerald Olmos, 29, was asked to develop a business idea for a stress management course at Southern, she knew exactly what to do: a tea and coffee shop where customers could relax and find community. “I grew up in West Haven without a lot of connections. My parents divorced when I
was young, and I was terribly shy, so I spent a lot of time alone. I dreamed of a place where people felt welcome and immediately at home,” says Olmos, a native of Branford, Conn., who is now the coowner with her husband of ERO Café in New Haven. Olmos initially earned an associate degree from Gateway Community College, hoping to become a child psychologist. She transferred to Southern, still thinking psychology was in her future. But doubts crept in.