Harvard & Yale’s Instagram page greets visitors with sepia-toned images of pairs of shoes, vintage cars and the occasional artfully shot beverage pour. In the captions of each post, hashtags include #coffee #retailshop #community.
Harvard & Yale, a new coffee shop and retail space in the Claremont Village, opened its pop-up location on Sunday, Feb. 16. The business plans to move to 212 Yale Ave, where it recently bought a space, but is waiting on the City of Claremont to approve renovations to the location.
In its temporary storefront — a small space with a compact coffee bar and a handful of small tables scattered inside and outside — the shop currently sells a limited selection of apparel and beverages.
Harvard & Yale has lofty aspirations beyond just coffee.
“A big part of what we’re trying to do here is bring the retail and coffee experiences together,” Frank Rodriguez, the owner of the shop, said.
Rodriguez characterizes Harvard & Yale as a lifestyle brand. In addition to selling merchandise from brands like Stüssy, Carhartt WIP and New Balance, Harvard & Yale plans to highlight local artists.
“Students can come and meet other artists in the neighborhood, like Vince Skelly, like Tyler Morgan,” Rodriguez said. “We want it all to be visually appealing and just a space where kids can come to and enjoy.”
Rodriguez, who has a background in print and design and has lived in Claremont for the last thirteen years, is committed to the city’s coffee scene.
“[I] have been … supporting local companies like Augie’s, when they were here, to Iron & Kin and just love the community,” he said. “I saw an opportunity within the coffee space to just bring a different perspective on it.”
“It’s a little blossoming niche in the village.”
Harvard & Yale shares the Village with local and chain coffee shops, including the Claremont location of Philz which opened last November, Some Crust, 42nd Street Bagel Cafe, Nosy Neighbors and more.
“In Claremont there’s two types of coffee shops,” Pomona resident Xochilt Cortes noted. “There’s, like, small businesses like Iron & Kin, right? Compared to the chains like Starbucks and Coffee Bean.”
Julia Blakely PO ’27 appreciated Harvard & Yale’s community-centered atmosphere.
“I would say it feels warm, friendly and personable,” she said. “There is a ritual aspect of going to a coffee shop which I find comforting. I think Harvard & Yale is really making an intentional effort to foster community, not only with customers, but also artists and other business owners.”
Several customers expressed their satisfaction with Harvard & Yale’s coffee, while others had mixed reviews about the matcha. Sarah Chianglin PO ’27 said that she has found Harvard & Yale’s matcha to be inconsistent.
“I prefer drinking strong matcha, but on my recent visits, the matcha was clumpy and the milk overpowered the matcha flavor,” she said.
Whereas Pomona resident Xochilt Cortes appreciated the balance of flavors in her matcha latte.
Whether Harvard & Yale can actualize its grand aesthetic visions while delivering on consistency remains to be seen, but many Claremonters are rooting for the shop to succeed.
“It’s a little blossoming niche in the village,” Blakely said.
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