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When Jamie Dening first peeked inside Pausa Coffee’s new storefront on East Water Street, the store was still two weeks away from opening for business. But the owner still invited him in to try the coffee and chat.

Now, he’s a regular.

“I felt right at home,” Dening said. “You can tell how welcoming and warm they are, wanting to connect and have community.”

Pausa Coffee, a European-inspired coffee shop and cocktail lounge, officially opened in Hanover Square on Sept. 19.

Owner Laura Capparelli said her Italian American heritage inspired her to create Pausa. While traveling to American and European cities, she saw the merits in having spaces to slow down — something she said Syracuse lacked.

“It was always go, go, go, go,” Capparelli said. “I really wanted to cultivate a space where people could find community, find themselves. I wanted a place where everyone could walk in and forget everything else.”

The name represents just that, translating from Italian to “pause” in English. Capparelli wants customers to escape from the rush of everyday life, experience slow, special moments and take a break.

During the day, Pausa operates as an upscale coffee shop with a menu of signature and seasonal coffees. On weekend nights, the cafe reopens as a bar with craft cocktails and small plates.

The two vibes allow the business to tap into daytime and nighttime customer bases. Coffee and cocktails aren’t all that different, Capparelli said. Pausa’s signature lattes often resemble cocktails, with fancy garnishes like a sage leaf in their seasonal Butternut Sage Latte.

“It really has this European feel,” Dening said. “It’s very busy, but it’s like time slows a little bit when you’re in there.”

Pausa’s espresso martini drew in Jamie Ann Owens and her friends. The first time they came in, Owens chatted with Capparelli across the bar and now works as Pausa’s marketing director. As a longtime Syracuse resident, Owens called Pausa “something rich” that the community needed.

“It’s a mixture of having a wonderful menu, but also bringing in the community,” Owens said. “What the community needs now is connection.”

In less than two months of business, Capparelli said the shop already has many regular customers, some of whom come back twice in a day, either for their second coffee or for a drink at night. Owens said not many places in the area gain regulars in such a short amount of time. She said it speaks to Pausa’s inviting nature.

There’s usually a line out the door on weekends, Capparelli said.

“To see that we built that within a month is just so crazy to me,” Capparelli said. “It’s just been crazy to see all of it come to life and see people love something that you love just as much.”

All different types of customers of varying ages visit the coffee shop, Owens said. Students come to study, couples come for date nights, families come with their children and others come to catch up over drinks. Capparelli said the most rewarding part of the experience has been watching a community form at Pausa.

Dening has made connections with other regulars since the shop opened. There’s always a deck of cards left on one of the tables. Dening often sees people play with each other while drinking their coffee. Pausa draws people in because they’re looking for more than a “bare bones coffee shop,” Dening said.

“We’ll have people who have never met before go sit down with each other,” Capparelli said. “People are craving connection, craving conversation, and that’s what we want. We want to cultivate conversation between anyone.”

Pausa’s signature lattes often resemble their nighttime cocktails. They include fancy garnishes like sage leaves.Zabdyl Koffa | Staff Photographer

Along with serving coffee and drinks, Pausa hosts events like a book club, writers workshop and private events, aiming to foster community. They’re planning a ticketed black tie event for New Year’s Eve.

Pausa Book Club met for the first time in early November. The 40 members connect over books as they meet each month, Capparelli said, and there’s currently a waiting list to join. Capparelli recently created a book club Discord channel, giving customers who aren’t book club members a chance to read the book and join the discussion.

Along with owning Pausa, Capparelli works full time for Toast, Inc, a technology company for restaurants and food service. Opening a bar has always been Capparelli’s dream, and working with restaurants in her role as senior multiproduct solutions engineer gave her the confidence to open up her own place. Once she got the ball rolling, it took less than a year to get the business up and running, Capparelli said.

Creating a new business comes with some expected “growing pains,” Capparelli said, but she’s committed to constant improvement. Pausa is closed on Mondays, which Capparelli has used to read through restaurant reviews and choose at least one thing to work on, like changing their pastry seller or adding signs with the roast of the day.

“It’s like I’m opening up a new business all over again on Mondays,” Capparelli said.

Pausa’s location was an intentional choice, Capparelli said. She wanted a space with exposed brick and bay windows that would “keep all of the old Syracuse charm.” Although the business brings something new to the area, Capparelli still wanted the coffee shop to fit within Syracuse’s current beauty.

The location also provides Capparelli with a community of other small business owners who have guided her through the process of opening Pausa. Owners from neighboring businesses like Storys, Kara Anne, Water Street Bagel Co., Across The Hall Café and The Sweet Praxis have come by to give her advice and act as sound boards for her ideas, Capparelli said. She said the community support is “unreal.”

In turn, Capparelli supports these businesses herself. She tries to make her way over at least a few times a week, and she won’t sell competing items. Pausa’s menu doesn’t include cold foam (a popular menu item at Across the Hall Café) or bagels (Water Street Bagel covers that).

Now, Pausa is decked out for Christmas, with garlands and ornaments. It feels like a Hallmark movie inside, Owens said, a feeling that isn’t reserved for the winter season.

“It’s a bit magical in here, and whimsical, even when it’s not the holidays,” Owens said. “I’ve heard people say it reminds them of New York or Paris. It reminds them of a place where they can’t be. You’re stepping into a time to take a break, take a pause.”

Published on November 10, 2025 at 9:08 pm
Contact Eliana: ehrosen@syr.edu