By Jim Shelton, Register Staff
jshelton@nhregister.com

NEW HAVEN — In this wearisome winter, there are only two questions the regulars seem to be asking at Koffee?, the Audubon Street java joint.

One is, “When’s the next storm?” The other is, “What’s Shaina wearing today?”

Every Wednesday morning, Koffee?’s Shaina Hotchkiss, 26, takes it upon herself to lift the spirits of an entire neighborhood with her homemade costumes. She might be a robot, a cupcake or a four-leaf clover.

She’s dependable, too. In snow, in sleet, in deepest cold, she’s there behind the counter by 7 a.m.

“I like turning people’s day around,” Hotchkiss says on a recent “Wacky Wednesday,” while dressed as a bunch of bright purple grapes. “They respond well to it. They need it.”

Indeed, Koffee? patrons say it’s tough to stay grumpy when a woman dressed as a pirate or a duck serves you your morning cappuccino. It’s especially true when she plays it straight.

“Morning, Bob,” she says to one regular.

“Morning, Shaina,” Bob replies. He’s chuckling to himself before he reaches the condiment counter.

“I look forward to this every week,” says Yale mathematician Gregg Zuckerman, sitting at a nearby table with a muffin and a cup of coffee. “Makes it easier to get through the week.”

This has been going on for a solid year now. Continued...

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Kids and staff from the Neighborhood Music School next door had been coming in wearing costumes on Wednesdays as part of the school’s summer camp, and Hotchkiss followed suit. She liked the idea so much, in fact, that she decided to do it year-round.

Among her ensembles have been a dreidel costume, a Las Vegas showgirl outfit, a firefighter’s uniform and an Easter basket costume. She made all of them herself, except for the firefighter uniform, which she borrowed.

The grape costume, for instance, consists of a purple shirt she bought at a thrift store for $3, some green napkins and about 30 purple balloons. She never repeats a costume, she explains.

“I want to keep people on their toes,” she says. “It’s best when people are half asleep when they come in. I’ll already be getting their order and they’re like, ‘Oh my God. You’re dressed like a duck.’”

And what does her boss, Koffee? owner Duncan Goodall, think about this?

“I didn’t realize I had a choice in the matter,” he says. “I generally have a philosophy here of — I like to hire odd people and tell them to be themselves. We’re not corporate. We’re quintessentially local.”

At this point, Hotchkiss has a growing fan base of folks who follow her every clothing change. The coffee shop is even posting Facebook updates about her costumes and e-mailing photos.

“It’s an embodiment of our attitude toward business and enjoying life,” Goodall says.

One of Hotchkiss’ biggest fans is Anne Tubis, director of the Audubon Arts summer theater program.

“Shaina is miraculous,” Tubis says, after taking a photo of Hotchkiss in her grape get-up. “Probably my favorite was the Easter basket. And the dreidel was phenomenal.” Continued...

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As the morning flies by and snow starts to fall outside, Hotchkiss plies her customers with quips and caffeine.

“So what kind of grapes are you?” a guy asks.

“Definitely not sour,” Hotchkiss says.

Call Jim Shelton at 203-789-5664. Follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/NHRegBuzz or search for New Haven Register Buzz on Facebook.

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