Worker-owned cooperative espresso bar New Leaf offers customers a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere along with coffee drinks and snacks at affordable prices. — Photos by Matt Kennedy

By Jeffrey Shwom

Now, folks who had their haircut at Razors Barbershop over the years may remember there being coffee, or a basic setup of coffee. I am trying to remember in 2009 when I frequented the place whether it was Keuring coffee and whether there were Italian cookies. Either way, it is certainly a welcomed sight along Highland, at the corner of Cherry Street, to see New Leaf Espresso continue the tradition, in a new way.

The worker-owned cooperative espresso bar opened December 7, with early advertisements tacked to utility poles on 8×11 sheets of paper. This is not the first instance of coffee served within Razors. Capito Coffee (Peabody) operated there starting in late 2021 and through at least a portion of 2022, if not longer.

Today, the seating area has lots of deep greens, the cushion for the window seats and the pine table ornaments. The barrels, for sitting, leaning, drinking and waiting, bring a charm to this open concept space. The feel is in between a small, European style coffee bar and a lounge-y waiting area.

I was asked at least twice if I had a haircut appointment, which was kind of fun. It is the holiday season and there are a lot of folks getting them all cut in preparation for upcoming gatherings. It is a social, cheerful environment, with scissors clipping and steam from the espresso machine whistling. Italian salutations and humming clippers were heard too, as well as mellow coffee shop music, taking me away from the stress of the holidays.

The past few years have seen Central Somerville, near or on Highland between Davis Square and Central Street, perk up with coffee options: Three Figs (Highland and Cedar), Wicked Cafe (199c Highland Ave), and Zaruma Gold Coffee (Lowell Street at Woodbine Street) to name a few.

Eoin Jaquith is subletting the space from Razors owner Anthony Berriola. Eoin (pronounced like Owen) is one of the co-operative owners. He / they told me, “It is cooperatively owned by everyone who works here.” It is similar to Circus Cooperative Cafe, which according to Circus’s website, was “founded by cafe workers who spent years looking for an equitable workplace in the Greater Boston Area.”

“Before we (the co-op members) started this place, two of us (Andrew DeBenedictis) worked at 1369 (Coffee House) in Inman. We worked together for a year. I worked there for several years. I was one of the people making the union push happen. Now, I am doing different coffee.” There are five co-op members as of now.

The approach here, per Eoin, is they are “trying to do things simple. 1369 is very customization heavy. You can do anything you want to the coffee. It can be overwhelming. We are trying to keep it simple and affordable.” Espresso drinks start at $3. The baked goods, like croissants and cookies, are from Danish Pastry House, baked in Watertown. The coffee is from Broadsheet Coffee Roasters (Cambridge) and tea from Mem Tea (Davis Square).

As for the check-in process for haircuts and walk-in customers for the espresso bar, Razors and New Leaf are working on it, on the fly. Eoin even helped one walk-in with their haircut check-in process. “It is nice to have the chatter and noise all the time. With coffee, you have people and noise all the time.” So, a different type of noise for a different, simple type of coffee experience.

Eoin is still a bit surprised how things turned out. “I never thought I was gonna do this. It was a ridiculously good opportunity. It was already built out, and already had an espresso machine. Anthony needed someone to run it.”

Even though they are open Monday through Saturday now, the goal is to be open later. “The plan is to be open nights, a night coffee shop. The hope is to get two shifts of people here.”

New Leaf Espresso, 308 Highland Ave., at Razors, is open Monday through Saturday: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. No reservations needed and walk-ins welcomed. Follow @newleafespresso on Instagram or visit www.newleafespresso.com.