A new café at 55 Brighton St. in Belmont is betting that coffee and craft go hand in hand. The Woolly Brew, a combined coffee shop and yarn store launched by sisters Jo-Ann and Cheryl Spera, occupies roughly 1,347 square feet next to Beyond Fitness and near Belmont High School, and it's slated to open in September.
According to Boston Real Estate Times, the lease on the space commenced Aug. 1, and the sisters plan to serve specialty coffee drinks, teas and other light café beverages alongside their yarn business. Jo-Ann Spera, of Jon-Son Associates, represented The Woolly Brew in the lease negotiations, the outlet reported. Boston.com, which reported on the sister-run concept, notes the café plans to open Sept. 28, pending permitting, according to Boston.com.
Jo-Ann Spera, 61, has run her accounting business for 25 years and has led Jon-Son Associates, an accounting and financial advising office, for about 15 years, per Boston.com. That office sits right next door to the new café. Jo-Ann told the outlet she is not a lifelong knitter but sees the shop as both a coffee spot and a knit shop, describing herself as a numbers person who is more persuasive than her sister. Cheryl, meanwhile, is the detail-oriented half of the pair and spent many years as a project manager at IBM, a background the sisters say shaped her role designing the café's layout, according to The Woolly Brew's own account of its origins.
A Trip to Denmark Sparked the Idea
Neither sister had run a coffee shop before, but the concept crystallized during a trip to Denmark in April, where the two encountered the concept of hygge, the Danish idea of cozy, communal comfort, Boston.com reported. Jo-Ann said she hopes The Woolly Brew becomes a third space between home and work, adding that people should have a place that feels like a second home. The sisters also drew on childhood memories of the Snowy Owl Cafe in Brewster, Massachusetts, as inspiration for the kind of gathering spot they wanted to build, according to the same company account.
Construction on the space began in August, with crews modifying pipes and flooring to accommodate food service, per Boston.com's reporting. The Hamilton Group agreed to move its rental office to make room for the build-out, the outlet noted. A Belmont town agenda item dated Sept. 21 lists a fats, oil and grease interceptor variance request for The Woolly Brew at 55 Brighton Street as a discussion and possible vote item, according to Belmont's town government.
Filling a Gap Between Pleasant Street and Fresh Pond
The sisters see the café as filling a coffee-shop gap in the stretch between Pleasant Street and Fresh Pond, Boston.com reported. Jo-Ann said she hopes nearby middle and high school students will stop in after school, given the café's proximity to Belmont High School. The layout will include a café section, a seating section and a crafting section, with couches and tables where customers can work, according to the outlet.
On the food side, the café plans to serve espresso drinks and high-end pastries, with Lakon Paris Patisserie agreeing to supply croissants and try wholesale sales with the shop, Gingerbread Construction supplying muffins, and Newburyport-based Chococoa providing whoopie pies, per Boston.com's reporting. For yarn, the shop plans to carry hand-dyed skeins from Toil and Trouble, based in Salem, and Danish yarn from Knitting for Olive.
Classes, Movie Nights and a Yarn Swap Bin
Beyond retail, The Woolly Brew plans to host crafting, community events and classes, including beginner and seasonal craft offerings, Boston.com reported. Halloween-themed projects are planned for October, and the sisters intend to host evening movie nights after closing hours. They also plan to set up a give-and-take bin where customers can drop off or pick up leftover yarn, according to the outlet, giving neighbors another reason to linger over a latte and a knitting needle.
