These days, Atticus Bookstore Cafe looks a little different than it did in 1975. For one, the cafe part didn’t exist when the downtown staple first opened its doors. Customers were rushing to buy Alex Haley’s blockbuster novel Roots; now, they’re buying Samin Nosrat’s newest cookbook, Go od Things, and Ian McEwan’s novel What We Can Know. Also, the owner’s son has since taken over the family business. But the black bean soup, despite not being vegetarian, has stuck around for a while. Father-son duo Charles Negaro Sr. and Jr. joined city and Yale University Properties officials at the 1082 Chapel St. bookstore-cafe on Monday to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of Atticus’ opening. The coffee-and-book shop was an early harbinger of new downtown urbanism. Fifty-five years ago, while moving away from being a lawyer, Negaro Sr. was dating a woman who was a vegetarian. The two of them had come downtown for her to shop at a Chinese grocery store at the corner of York and Chapel streets. “There was a sign in the window that said ‘space for rent.’ That’s how it all started,” Negaro Sr. said. At first, Atticus was just a bookstore. Then, in 1981, Negaro Sr. decided to open up a cafe as well. “The cafe was so fortunate to have incredible people who came and made it,” he said, then laughed. “My original idea for the cafe — I thought we’d have cannolis.” Negaro Jr. took over Atticus from his father in 2019. Alexandra Daum, Yale’s associate vice president of New Haven and University Properties, described Negaro Jr. as “one of the most talented restaurateurs” and someone who New Haven is lucky to have. “I promised not to make fun of my dad too much,” Negaro Jr. said. “What my dad gave me was he gave a college dropout a job. And then he didn’t fire me. He should have probably a dozen times.” He thanked his dad, and said that many other people deserved the opportunities he got. “Hopefully I get to do this for 50 more years,” Negaro Jr. said. “Thank you to New Haven and to Yale for being a great place to do business.” “Today, like all of you, I’m a customer first,” said City Economic Development Administrator Mike Piscitelli. To Atticus leadership, he said, “you are the standard bearer that allows us to move forward.” Mayor Justin Elicker, who noted that he also celebrated 50 years this year, presented Atticus with a city proclamation. He highlighted Negaro Sr.’s role in founding New Haven Farms and Negaro Jr.’s founding of the CT Food Launch Pad. The family also founded wholesale Chabaso Bakery in Fair Haven. “It’s not just about business,” he said. “It’s about New Haven; it’s about taking care of the community.” Mandy Dorso and Colleen Carroll are two major parts of the book-selling team at Atticus: Dorso has been with Atticus on-and-off since 2010 and has run the bookstore for just over three years. Carroll has been Atticus’ book buyer for 18 years. Being a part of the Atticus team “has always brought me a great amount of joy,” Dorso said on Monday. “It’s a wonderful place to work, it’s a wonderful family to work for.” Carroll has been in the book business for 30 years, and she came to Atticus in 2007 from Barnes Noble, at a time when the cafe was more prioritized than the bookstore. She brought some of the structure she saw at Barnes Noble to Atticus, and in her words, everything has just been getting “better and better.” Need any book recommendations? Carroll said that North Woods by Daniel Mason was “the best novel I read this year.” She also found an appreciation for Joyce Carol Oates’ work. Dorso had a clear answer: You Better Be Lightning, a poetry collection by queer poet and activist Andrea Gibson, who died of cancer this year. “I’ve bought countless copies of this book and just been like, ‘Go read this, you need it!'” Negaro Sr.: From law to the coffee biz. Book duo Colleen Carroll and Mandy Dorso. The post Atticus Bakes It To 50 appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less