SOMETHING’S COOKING: The Jitter Bus

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WFSB) - If you love a good coffee break, you need to get on “The Jitter Bus.”

One of New Haven’s coolest coffee shops is owned and operated by two guys who got fired from Starbucks.

“They were kind of just like, ‘you’re not really cut out for this, you’re not Starbucks material, you’re not what we are looking for,’” said Dan Barletta, The Jitter Bus.

Maybe it’s for the best that Dan Barletta and Paul Crosby were not “Starbucks material” because that setback led to their four-wheeled café they call The Jitter Bus!

Paul came up with the idea when an ice cream truck passed by.

“I kind of realized, like, you know, I don’t want ice cream right now, but I would definitely drink coffee,” Paul explained. “That’s where it all was like, ‘ding ding.’”

A short time later, they spotted a bus on Craigslist.

“She sold it for super cheap cause she just wanted it out of her driveway, and its held up ever since,” Paul said.

7 years later, The Jitter Bus is still going strong.

Parked near the corner of Hillhouse Avenue and Grove Street, just steps from Yale’s campus, they make some of the best coffee, espresso, tea, and specialty drinks in New Haven.

“My philosophy is people like coffee the way they like it and if I can make it that way, I’m definitely going to make it for them,” Dan said.

Dan and Paul recommend their top-selling dirty chai with a devilish shot of espresso.

Copyright 2023 WFSB. All rights reserved.