Cordella's, the tiny coffee shop that built a following on Worcester's West Side, is reopening Nov. 14 at 116 June St. with a lot more room and a lot more on the menu. After a 14-month renovation, the shop has expanded into the storefront next door, adding a wine and cocktail bar to go with its espresso counter.
The closure stretched well over a year, but owners Andy Jimison, Jess Rao and Alecia Bishop kept Cordella's name in front of regulars the whole time, according to The Gardner News. The owners held 56 pop-up events in 2026 alone, not counting residencies, popping up at spots including the Burncoat Center for Art and Wellness, Market on Exchange downtown and Fivefork Farms in Upton, per the same account. Owners told the outlet that neighbors kept asking when the shop would reopen and had already started stopping by as the work wrapped up.
From 16 Seats to a Full Bar Next Door
The expansion plan had been in the works for more than a year. A 2025 report from Worcester Magazine said a crowdfunding campaign for the project raised more than $43,000, with the goal of bringing the shop's capacity to 75 people, up from 16. That same reporting said Cordella's had already secured its liquor license well before construction finished.
The extra square footage came from the storefront next door that once housed Andy Jimison's Materia Arcade & Video Games, filled with arcade cabinets and retro consoles, Worcester Magazine reported. Jimison opened that arcade in 2022 at 116A June St., right beside Cordella's original location, according to a report by Yahoo Lifestyle, which also noted the original coffee shop opened in 2024 with inside seating for just 14 people.
New Wine and Cocktail Program
The reimagined space now includes a wine and cocktail bar alongside the café, with seating spread across a bar, tables and an alcove, per The Gardner News. Cordella's partnered with Gilbert Distributors in Shrewsbury for its wine program and is working with Justus Wagner, formerly the wine director at Ed Hyder's Mediterranean Marketplace in Worcester, to build out the list. The plan, per the owners, is to start small and see what customers gravitate toward before expanding the selection.
Cocktails have been in development for months. Worcester Magazine reported in March that Cordella's co-owners planned a pop-up at Wooden Bar featuring six cocktails and two mocktails alongside bartender Greg Russo, scheduled for March 15 from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Knowlton Avenue venue. That earlier reporting described the expansion broadly as a move toward a thoughtfully curated wine and cocktail program paired with a more developed food menu. At the new bar, Cordella's will make its own juices and syrups in-house, and beer will be available without tap options, according to The Gardner News.
Small Plates, Snacks and a Kitchen for Later
Food will roll out in phases. Bar snacks including dips, popcorn and nut mixes are on the menu from day one, and the shop has a kitchen in place, but small plates aren't expected until sometime in 2027 as part of a phased rollout, per the same reporting.
The bar's equipment has its own local backstory: Cordella's sourced pieces from the Westerman film and TV props warehouse on Suffolk Street, operated by Westerman Store & Restaurant Equipment out of its 54 Green St. location in Worcester. The interior itself came together through a partnership between the owners and local artist Mags Munroe.
New Hours, Same Neighborhood Focus
Starting Nov. 14, the café side will run 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends, still offering a full espresso menu. The wine and cocktail bar will operate separately, open 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday through Monday.
Bishop, who created Cordella's original coffee menu and previously worked as a barista, remains among the owners alongside Jimison and Rao. A fourth original owner, Ellie Ellis, is no longer affiliated with the shop, according to The Gardner News. The current owners describe the rebuilt Cordella's as a friendly neighborhood gathering place, the same identity they leaned on through more than a year of pop-ups while the June Street storefronts were under construction.
