Western Connecticut Shop Owner Employs Camels for Opening

To achieve a “grand and dramatic” opening, the owner of a coffee shop in Western Connecticut is hiring camels to stand outside with signs slung over them reading: “Get over the hump, grab a cup of coffee.”

Creative Commons photo. A camel.

The marketing stunt is the brainchild of Angie’s Coffee & More co-owner Angie Rimbach and her husband Lee, who has a friend at a local zoo that specializes in exotic animals, according to a report from Litchfield County’s Register Citizen. Here’s more from the Citizen on Angie’s, which just opened in Torrington:

The shop is located in a lot next to a beauty saloon and a liquor store. The space has housed cafes and eateries since the late 1970s, Rimbach said. The previous tenant was interested in selling burgers in addition to coffee, and offered Rimbach’s husband a chance to purchase the property before a deal fell through. The tenant left in April, leaving the space open. Angie Rimbach was initially hesitant about the business.

“I’ve had a lot of seconds thoughts about doing this,” Rimbach said, looking around her newly remodeled space. “This is so much different than what it was. It really wasn’t nice in here at all.”