At the end of September, a little coffee shop that its owners said is the first of its kind in the country will make its place among downtown Mineola’s bars, boutiques and burger joints.
At their Costa Nova Waffle at 211 Second St., set to open later this month, siblings and Mineola natives Monica and Andre Oliveira will sell a pair of Portuguese desserts that they said has not made it to the U.S.
The tripa is a thin, doughy pastry similar to a crepe, while the crispier bolacha is more like a waffle cone, said Monica, 26.
Both get a filling, such as strawberries or Nutella.
At Costa Nova Waffle, she said, both will be folded into a portable treat, fitting for downtown shoppers and the increasing number of commuters living in the area.
“It’s something new and exciting, and it’s something that I think adds to the diversity that we’re trying to bring to downtown Mineola,” said Monica, currently a physician’s assistant.
The Oliveiras’ parents came to Mineola from Portugal in the 1980s; their mother is from Aveiro, where the tripa and bolacha were born.
Monica and Andre, a 25-year-old civil engineer, started learning how to make the desserts last October.
They took them to Mineola’s Portuguese Day Parade and Portugal Day Festival in June, and crowds responded well, they said.
Their cousins, Amanda and Andrea Alves, joined them to help open Costa Nova, which the village Board of Trustees approved Sept. 9.
At the festivals, the tripa won over Mineola Trustee Dennis Walsh and Deputy Mayor Paul Pereira, who taught Amanda and Andrea at Mineola High School.
At the Sept. 9 meeting, Walsh said he thought the cafe plays into the village’s “Master Plan” for redeveloping the downtown area, noting that the shop will be within walking distance from new apartment complexes.
In Monica’s experience, Mineola loses some commerce to Garden City because it lacks “trendier or distinct” shops and restaurants, she said.
She wants to change that with Costa Nova, and she hopes the shop will attract similar businesses to the downtown area.
“I think it might open up the door for other people to think, ‘Maybe Mineola can appreciate something like this as well,” she said.
At the board meeting, Mineola Chamber of Commerce President Tony Lubrano said the shop seemed promising to him after a series of store closings in the village.
“It’s like a disease, and if that’s the case, I think they’re the cure,” said Lubrano, who owns Picolla Bussola Ristorante, a popular Italian restaurant in Mineola.
