When did you think of the idea to create Winfield? How did it begin?
I immigrated to the US when I was 18 and got a job washing dishes at a legendary pizza joint in Greenwich CT. The owner's brother owned this empty mansion nearby and he let me sleep there - just me and a mattress in this giant house. I worked from 9 am to 11 pm every day. The job and the restaurant business fascinated me. I worked from sunup to sundown and couldn't get enough of it. I fell in love with the American culture, and I found a family within my pizza family - we took care of each other. I learned to prep chicken, meatballs, sauce, pizza dough and graduated to prep cook. Watching these hard-working immigrants, both the owners and staff, shaped my work ethic for who I am today; we, as a team, truly wanted to give it all to this pizza joint and its customers. One of my fondest memories, which still comes to my mind every time I am frustrated with unfinished work, is of the owner telling me to go home: "It is ok, Breno, tomorrow is a brand-new day.” That image helps me get at ease when I am overwhelmed and think I am not able.
Winfield wasn't yet a thought back then, but I certainly already knew, as I was washing a pile of dishes at this hole-in-the-wall bewildering pizza joint, that counted as regulars Brendan Frasier, Anthony Hopkins, and multiple other actors and CEOs, that I was going to own my own food business in this country.
After five years of marriage, my wife got pregnant, and I knew the experimentation timing was up. I had worked enough, saved enough, learned enough, failed enough... well, it turns out I hadn't failed or learned enough yet, but I thought it was time to strike on my own.
“The job and the restaurant business fascinated me. I worked from sunup to sundown and couldn’t get enough of it. I fell in love with the American culture.”
What is the origin of the name?
Winfield Delicatessen was there... in its fourth owner since 1925, the current operator had had enough of the business and wanted to sell it. This neighborhood deli was nested in East Norwalk, on Winfield Street, and was very low-key, but with a steady stream of regular customers and a great reputation... perfect for an ambitious young new father that wanted to spend evenings with the young family. It needed a fresh coat of paint, some love, and affection, but the bones were good and it allowed me an income to support my family. It was September 13, 2015, 33 days after my wife gave birth to my first son, that I sold my first subs at the original Winfield Street Deli.
What is the main message surrounding Winfield, what is the goal?
“Serving coffee is exciting, but it is a very innate human characteristic to strive for more. And I knew that our “more”, as a company, would be to reach out to our local communities and integrate people that perhaps didn’t have other opportunities. We use our resources to donate meals to local shelters, and we open our space to artists, creatives and entrepreneurs to showcase their art or business. This is part of what Winfield is. ”
Who were your biggest supporters?
My wife is my number one supporter. She always believed in me and gave me confidence. She put her career on a hiatus so I could focus on building the Winfield brand. She put her savings into the investment for our first store. Our parents have also always given their unconditional support and constant advice. I am grateful for the people that led me in all of my different jobs, especially the Criscuolo family, who owned the Greenwich pizza joint and gave me my first job in America. I am grateful for this country and our constitution that allows for people like myself to have a shot at creating something. I am grateful for my community college (NCC) and my university (UCONN), where I learned things that opened many doors for me. I am grateful for my staff and our managers, who work hard to keep bringing that mission and that concept to fruition every day. And I am grateful to my current investors that believed in the brand I described to them and committed to it financially.
“My wife is my number one supporter. She always believed in me and gave me confidence. She put her career on a hiatus so I could focus on building the Winfield brand.”
How has the brand evolved?
About six months after I took over Winfield Deli, an operator of a nearby coffee shop at the Westport train station reached out to me and asked me if I wanted to take over his business. It had great early morning traffic and I could make breakfast sandwiches at the deli and bring over two miles down the road to the coffee shop. I thought if I was going to serve coffee, I needed to learn and focus on it. I researched the best international and national coffee roasters and settled on Counter Culture Coffee for their focus on their coffee shop partners through training, maintenance support, and quality. On February 1st, 2016, the historic Norwalk hole in the wall known as Winfield Deli transitioned to Winfield Street Coffee. Later that year, I decided to expand again and I took over the also legendary Art's Delicatessen in Westport, near the bridge, after the operator at the time couldn't run it anymore because of a drug problem. November 4th, 2016, a little over a year after starting Winfield, we were opening our third location. It was a wild time.
On December 2, 2017, we opened our fourth location at Croton-On-Hudson, with a limited coffee and grab-go style breakfast. This location was incredible from the start as it was seeing almost 500 customers by 9 am on a daily basis. Being the only food option in a busy train station worked out well for us. Winfield Street Coffee, in Stamford, our flagship location, opened for business on October 20, 2019, to astounding success.
After having weathered COVID during 2020, we have emerged stronger than ever and now we have our Westport location, our Croton-On-Hudson location, our Stamford flagship, Trumbull and Wilton concessions, our Coffee Trailer in Coastland Center Mall in Naples, FL as well as two other stores in Naples (South and North), and are currently in the process of opening two locations in NYC, one in Rye, and one on 72nd St.
Do you roast your own beans?
Since our inception it has always been our hope to one day bring our coffee roasting in-house and as great as our relationships have been with roasters, we wanted to connect deeper with the producers to have more control over the final product. This dream became a reality in 2023, when we proudly launched our own in-house roasted coffee. Currently, we are partnering with a group of growers in Minas Gerais, Brazil to showcase our signature Wick roast. The coffee is an all-around crowd pleaser that has a beautiful creamy mouthfeel and notes of dark chocolate, almond butter, and brown sugar. We are eager to launch other single-origin offerings that are deeply connected to the producers in the months and years ahead.
