A new cafe has come to Yorktown that brings not just a friendly product, but a new experience.
“I felt like God put it on my heart to be a blessing for families,” said Cecilia Corujo, owner of the new Persnickety Crane Cafe. “I wanted to be a place where parents can come and do date night but also where their children can play.”
Persnickety opened Friday to provide guests with what Corujo describes as a “third wave” coffee experience. She said first wave coffee is what people buy in stores, second wave coffee is what people buy at coffeehouse chains but third wave coffee is something entirely different.
With the coffee at Persnickety, there is a focus on the science behind the bean. All of the coffee comes from single-origin farms and is provided in a variety of brewing methods from pour-over to French press.
In addition, the cafe also offers 15 different loose leaf teas and uses products that are environmentally friendly and recyclable.
“As a business owner, I wanted to be part of the solution and not part of the problem by contributing to trash,” she said.
But those qualities aren’t the only aspects that make the cafe different.
As a mother of four, Corujo said she remembered raising young children and not being able to have a place where she could relax or socialize while also watching them. A location that provided a date-night atmosphere but also created an area where children could have fun was something she found lacking not just in Yorktown, but in most cities.
Now with her children grown, she wanted to provide that experience for other mothers.
At Persnickety, there are a variety of activities and events from game nights to poetry readings to live music. Families can bring their children and just enjoy a drink and entertainment.
“I had one parent say she’d had the first conversation with her husband in three weeks because she came here and her daughter was playing,” Corujo said.
Corujo named the restaurant “Persnickety” to represent a welcoming environment for customers with high expectations and added the “Crane” to appeal to children who like animals.
The decor of the cafe is designed to be welcoming and natural, with greenery around the coffee bar, driftwood decorations and a color scheme that gives an ocean vibe. Corujo said she also added inspirational sayings along the walls and photography so people would feel more at home.
And for Corujo, the cafe is becoming a type of home as she works 16-hour days alongside her family members to make the place perfect for customers each morning. This includes her son, Elijah Corujo, who co-founded the cafe with her.
Corujo said she hopes to keep finding new and entertaining ways to connect with the surrounding community. Currently, the cafe is partnering with other local businesses to provide pastries and desserts from across Hampton Roads in the product menu.
But most importantly, she wants to keep creating a new place that is family-friendly and high-quality.
“We want to provide different experiences,” she said. “Where people can come and build a memory with us.”
