Food & Drink

People.com names Recess Coffee to its list of ’20 Coffee Shops in America You Have to Visit’

Courtesy of Jesse Daino

Recess Coffee prides itself on roasting locally and only using fairly traded coffee beans in its espresso drinks.

People.com released its list of “20 Coffee Shops in America You Have to Visit” Thursday morning, which included Recess Coffee, located just a short distance from the Syracuse University campus.

“We feel very honored and surprised,” said Jesse Daino, Recess Coffee co-owner. “There are a lot of good coffee shops around the country, and we are very honored to be listed amongst the top ones.”

Located on Harvard Place in the Westcott neighborhood, Recess is a favorite amongst SU students for both its wide range of menu options and relaxed studying environment.

People.com wrote, “Tucked inside the first floor of a converted house and filled with cozy chairs and couches, this cafe is the perfect place to curl up and escape the bitter Upstate New York winters.”

“That’s a very good description, because that’s what we try to go for. We try to make it a place where anybody could feel at home, where anybody could feel comfortable — and the winters are brutal in Syracuse,” Daino said with a laugh.



Daino and co-owner Adam Williams first received news their shop made the list while they were working in their office and a friend posted on their Facebook. Daino said they were “completely shocked.”

The large, white house opened for business in 2007 and has been serving up locally roasted coffee ever since.

Daino said the shop is broken up into three rooms. The first room, as soon as you walk in, has a lot of seating that students utilize as a study space. The second, middle room is where patrons order food and drinks from large chalkboard menus.

And finally the back room is filled with comfortable furniture that is supposed to feel like “the living room in your house.”

Recess offers hot or cold espresso drinks, specialty teas, juices, sandwiches, baked goods and more, according to its website. The shop boasts that it only uses fairly traded and sustainable coffee beans.

“We’ve always wanted to stay true to having a shop that Adam and I would love to hang out in, would love to spend time in,” Daino said. “That’s pretty much what we imagined it would be, and that’s what it has become.”





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