WATERTOWN — Han Le is bringing Vietnamese cafes and culture to the newly renovated Paddock Arcade.
Ms. Le, who lived in Vietnam until she was 17, is opening a coffee shop that specializes in coffees from her homeland. She hopes to open Caffeineholic in early January in the Paddock Arcade storefront that was previously home to Europe Cakes.
His shop will serve Vietnamese coffee called phin.
“It’s stronger than American coffee and has more flavor,” he said.
Vietnamese coffee is rich, flavorful and sweet, made from Vietnamese coffee beans using a special filter. Robusta coffee beans are used to make it, he said.
It is a third generation Vietnamese coffee maker. Her grandmother and her parents owned coffee shops in Vietnam before the family moved to the United States.
“I make my own kind of coffee,” he said. “I love coffee. I have been drinking coffee since I was 12 years old.”
Ms. Le, 22, came to the United States to study at South Seattle College. Her family lived on the West Coast until they moved to Texas during the pandemic to be closer to her aunts and other family members, where she met her husband, Sgt. Michael Kellbher, who serves in the military and was assigned to Fort Drum last March.
In addition to his love of coffee, he wanted to bring his Vietnamese culture to the northern country, he said.
They searched for a location for the cafe for a while, but eventually met Jake Johnson, owner of Paddock Arcade, the perfect place for his business, he said.
Caffeineholic will also offer coffee cups and other products, coffee bags and baked goods from a local bakery. The cafeteria will be open from 6:30 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday and from 7:30 am to 6 pm on weekends.
The Watertown Local Development Corp., also known as the Watertown Trust, provides a $50,000 loan to the company to purchase equipment and renovations.
Cafeineholic is good news for the Paddock and the city centre, said Donald W. Rutherford, chief executive of the Watertown Trust.
Mr. Johnson, who bought Paddock Arcade last summer and completed around $500,000 in improvements since then, was looking for an early-morning cafe in what is considered the oldest indoor mall in the country.
On Saturday Mr Johnson celebrated the grand reopening of the Paddock just in time for the festivities. To kick off the occasion, several hundred revelers stopped by the quaint business establishment for Small Business Saturday.
With the opening of Caffeineholic and Boba Tea, all the first floor windows will be full. Josie Posie Co., a children’s clothing store, opened its doors on Saturday with a grand opening scheduled for this Saturday.
Other new businesses on the second floor include a photography studio, yoga studio, salon, and crystal shop. said Mr. Johnson.
He hopes to start a weekly winter farmer’s market and other community events soon in the common areas of the indoor retail center.
“I see a lot more opportunities for events,” Johnson said.
Europe Cakes recently moved from inside the arcade to a location facing Public Square to help increase their exposure.
As for the Paddock renovations, the building’s façade received a major facelift with a new limestone exterior, new custom doors, and an exterior and interior paint job.
Four new market rate apartments have been added to the building.
Mr. Johnson used his own investment in lieu of the $558,000 state funds from the Downtown Revitalization Initiative that were previously earmarked for the building.
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