WELCOME TO Semilla Cafe + Studio
AFTER MUCH PLANNING AND PREPARATION, SEMILLA CAFE + STUDIO FINALLY OPENED ITS DOORS ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH, 2021.
Photo courtesy of Joël Cintron
Our team at Cafeteria had the privilege of forming a partnership with the new cafe to support their studio component. This led to operating as the shop’s Retail buyer as well as programming collaborators. Our goal has been to retain the core vision of Semilla as delivered by owners Aimee Chambers and Elijah Hilliman through experiential retail projects and art installations.
It became pretty apparent that Semilla already had regulars before the doors officially opened. Over the past several years, we've continued to see prominent breeding grounds for artistic connection and congregation vanish with little to no notice. When the opening of Semilla became common knowledge, it felt like a sign of relief. This sentiment was echoed through the Hartford Courant story released September 4th:
“There are not a lot of places in this community that were intentionally created for people to gather in comfort and safety,” Chambers said. “I could only think of opening up a café,” Hilliman said. They filed their permit applications with the city, calling their proposed shop “a neighborhood living room dedicated to celebrating Hartford Black and brown cultures through coffee.”
You can find their full story in the Courant here and be sure to check out the soft opening recap below.
Visit Semilla Cafe + Studio at 1283 Main St, Hartford, CT 06103, Wed-Fri 7AM-5PM and Sat/Sun 9AM-5PM. Check out their event schedule for weekly programs here.
