Dual perks

The youngest of seven children, identical twins Lisette and Linette Rodriguez, were born and raised in Port Chester, N.Y. Since they started cashing paychecks in 1996, they have lived a life of coffee light years beyond simply enjoying a cup.

Besides java, they embody a catalogue of interests they bring to Norwalk with their new Tribeca Coffee House, so don”™t expect audience-tested music or less-than-dynamic food. Â

The twins, who live in Rye Brook, N.Y., have been working together in the coffee business since their first job.

“We started in coffee 13 years ago at D”™Agostino”™s Market in Port Chester,” said Lisette. “We worked for Starbuck”™s for seven years, and worked for Waterfront Roasters and Empire Coffee in Port Chester, both privately owned roasting plants.”

After branding and building the Empire Coffee cafÃ©, only to have the business contract to just the roasting plant due to the economy, the Rodriguez sisters decided to go it on their own.

“We”™ve been wanting to do this, and been talking about it for a long time,” said Linette. “We have a lot of people backing us up and encouraging us to do this. It took us a while to get that push and do it.”

The sisters say they”™re location on North Main Street in South Norwalk is exactly what they were hoping for.

“There”™s no Starbuck”™s around, which helps out a lot,” said Lisette. “We”™re a team. My sister knows what she”™s doing and I know what I”™m doing.”

Starbuck”™s has been denied entry to the area due to zoning strictures.

Also lending a helping hand to the business on a part time basis is an older Rodriguez sister, Rosa.

“She”™s great and can really talk to the science of coffee,” said Lisette.

The sisters said Jim Quinn, the building landlord and owner of Q Properties, has also proven to be a valuable ally to the business.

“This property used to be a Cold Stone Creamery,” said Lisette. “Their ice-cream machine is still back there; they just picked up and left.”

The business investors, the Tribeca connection of the business, came to the twins through their experience at the Port Chester roasting plants.

“We had a lot of people come in and some of them would come up and ask to invest in us opening up a business,” said Lisette. As a business plan: “We wanted something funky. We”™re pretty much giving away the coffee; we want everyone to try it.”

According to the Rodriguez sisters, they”™re breaking all the rules and formalities that were protocol while they were working for Starbuck”™s.

“We play all different kinds of music, it”™s a combination of our playlist and requests that come from our customers,” said Lisette. “We wanted to give it a different feel; it”™s not a rush atmosphere. It”™s just what we love to do. I do the day shift Linette does the night shift.”

The sisters said they wear their hair differently so as to try to help to avoid confusion for customers, but to those who don”™t look closely enough it may seem that one person has worked an open-to-close shift.

Linette said the staffers working at Tribeca are all previous co-workers and friends as well as trained baristas.

“They all have experience with coffee and have worked with us,” said Lisette. “We like to laugh and joke around with customers; we tell them to pretend they”™re home.”

Tribeca uses Empire Coffee to provide its beans as well as receiving some products from Waterfront Roasters.

“Everything we sell here we”™ve picked and made sure it”™s perfect,” said Lisette.

After only a few weeks, the sisters said the word of their Norwalk cafÃ© is spreading ”“ important movement in an industry fueled by return and regular customer base.

Lisette said an interesting anomaly has been that morning traffic has proven to be relatively light while afternoon and evening traffic is much heavier.

Lisette said that if the cafÃ©”™s business continues to grow as it has, a full second location for Tribeca would be a definite. Tribeca is already set to open a satellite location at the SoNo Field House, an indoor sports and special-event facility on Ely Avenue in the city.

“We”™ve had good and bad days,” said Lisette. “But everyday we notice the number going up more and more. We”™re really taking a chance, but we believe we can make it work.”

The Rodriguez”™s have reached out to the local community”™s artistic culture and are planning on featuring artists and musicians on a regular basis. Lisette said they hope to stay fresh and continue to offer what they can to the culture to Norwalk; even mentioning ideas like wanting to try to include a hookah-bar portion to the cafÃ©.

“We are looking into all types of things,” said Lisette.

The coffee house offers various flavors of coffee, sandwiches, fruit smoothies and baked goods from New York Bakery as well as specialty baked goods from Dough Girl Baking Company from Rowayton.

“We look for a reason to taste her stuff,” said Lisette about Laura Jayson and her Dough Girl Baking products. “Her stuff is amazing. We want to support others locally and keep it local.”

Tribeca also offers free Wi-Fi.

Lisette said they are hopeful regarding the residential developments on the drawing board in South Norwalk.