About Spruce Coffee

Established in October 2024

The Spruce Story

Katie and AJ: 10 years of friendship

We met in the fall of 2014 (exactly a decade ago!) when we were students at Arizona State. We had English class together but also a shared love for music, and we ended up starting a new a cappella group on campus that is still active to this day!

We've been inseparable for all these years, even after moving several times to many different states. We've been roommates in the past and are roommates again currently - everything we do, we do together, including Spruce. We are so excited to be working on this together for the community that we love.

How did the name "Spruce" come to be? It comes from a very stupid inside joke from years ago - stop in and ask us!

Meet the Team

This is your Team section. Briefly introduce the team then add their bios below. Click here to edit.

Co-Owner

Katie Leavitt (she/her)

Co-Owner

AJ Perez (he/him)

Events Coordinator

Cameron Hoefflinger (he/they)

Cam is a local legend, or perhaps a local cryptid, full of lore and mystery - somehow everyone knows someone who knows Cam. They’ve explored the world from the Himalayans and Saudi Arabian deserts, to the Arctic Circle and the Equator, but have found a home in Connecticut and community in New Haven. They now spend their time camping and road tripping, learning new instruments or writing music and poetry, gardening and taking pottery classes, watching vintage horror movies and parenting two munchkin cats. Trained and schooled in traditional fine art, Cam makes most of their living through photography, and spends one day a week running operations at a brewery and distillery. You can often spot them skating around the streets of East Rock or taking on daily random side quests for friends and neighbors. For Spruce, Cam will be heading the coordination of community events and of course acting as a tie breaker for Katie and Aj when they can’t come to agreement!

Barista

Rory Ballachino (she/they)

Rory is an artist and barista in New Haven, CT. She loves music, tattoos, skating/rollerblading, and making new friends! New Haven’s been such a welcoming place for her, helping her find herself and her community, and she hopes to bring that same joy to Spruce! She can’t wait to help make you feel at home.

Barista

Lars Boyle (they/them)

Lars has been a barista for over 3 years! They're so excited to bring their love of coffee and the craft to such a wonderful community space. When they're not behind the bar, they like making music, crocheting, and hanging out with their cat.

Barista

Rose Murphy (she/her)