Benjamin Hernandez, Contributing Photographer

Claire’s Corner Copia celebrated its 47th anniversary on Sept. 25 with events running throughout the day, including visits from Connecticut artists and raffle drawings. Yale University service dog Heidi and Yale’s second-oldest all-female a cappella group, Proof of the Pudding, also made special appearances. 

Claire Criscuolo and her late husband Frank Criscuolo opened Claire’s Corner Copia on Sept. 17, 1975, roughly seven months after their wedding. Their aim was to provide nutritious whole food and to support the New Haven community through various service projects and donations. 

“It was kind of an experiment,” Criscuolo said. “We wanted to make healthy food for people and we wanted to build a community.”

Criscuolo said that Claire’s had not celebrated its anniversary in over two years due to the pandemic. The restaurant wanted to host an in-person celebration to make up for its lack of recent festivities.

Before the event, the restaurant held a raffle that New Haven youth could enter upon submitting an essay about their role model. Five raffle winners were selected at the event on Sunday and will be gifted beginner guitars and a year’s worth of guitar lessons.

“We always do a little something and we always make a donation to a charity [during our anniversary],” Criscuolo said. “This year, we decided to up the game.”

From a flute concert in the morning to a performance by Proof of the Pudding later in the day and two jazz musicians in the evening, Claire’s was bustling with noise all throughout its celebration.

Nat Reeves and Hank Bolden were both invited to play at the restaurant’s celebration.  Reeves is a Jazz bassist, educator, performer and recording artist. Hank Bolden is an atomic veteran that was involved in the U.S.’s atomic weapon testing program during the Cold War and a current undergraduate at the Hartt School of Music who plays the saxophone. 

“I was just introduced to Claire’s,” Reeves said. “I’ll plan on coming back anytime I can to play at Claire’s because it’s a friendly environment. … You know, I’ve been all over the world playing jazz, and it’s nice to play here.”

Bolden said that, on top of being tempted to try the food, he enjoyed the restaurant’s atmosphere.

Bolden and Criscuolo also said that they are currently collaborating to hold monthly jazz nights at Claire’s in the near future, which Bolden said he will “certainly be back” for.

“I see people here with their computers and everything — studying and eating,” Bolden said. “I love the atmosphere — it’s laid back, and people are very appreciative,” which he said is not always the case when jazz music is introduced.

Bill and Louise Beaumon have been customers at Claire’s since 1979, when they met as undergraduate students at Southern Connecticut State University. The Beumon’s both said that while the food is good, the reason they have kept coming back is because of Criscuolo herself.

Bill said that Criscuolo not only set up a “great restaurant,” but also does much for the community “quietly [without] seeking any fanfare.” 

Louise said that on top of being encouraged by Claire to help out in community volunteering events, she was also personally touched by Criscuolo’s passion for helping others. Louise said that when she had surgery on her heel in December 2020, Criscuolo drove roughly 40 miles to Bristol in wintry conditions to bring her anything that she desired from Claire’s.

“The food is great — you know it’s organic, you know it’s good sourced [and] you know if you come here, you’re gonna get a great meal, but anybody can do that,” Louise said. “[Claire] has her finger on the pulse of the community. If she sees there’s an issue or a problem, she does something about it.” 

Another way that Claire’s is celebrating its 47th year in operation is with a new composting initiative. The new program is meant to continue the efforts of a previous initiative that included a partnership with Rainbow Recycling, a compost company that was run by two Yale graduates but that eventually fell through due to a loss of funding.

Criscuolo said that because the restaurant cracks its own eggs and peels some of its vegetables, all of which could be used as scraps, it has “really good compost.”

“We’re very excited about that,” she said, referring to the composting initiative. “We’re going to be able to use [the compost] for planting our plants outside. It’s gonna go full circle for everybody.”

Criscuolo said that the celebration was ultimately a “joy.” She said that the restaurant is fortunate to have the opportunity to host another anniversary and to have weathered through the pandemic.

She also said that she is thankful for the Yale School of Management students that helped the restaurant with marketing during the pandemic, helping Claire’s sell thousands of dollars in gift cards when the restaurant was not open.

“Claire’s is a different kind of place,” Criscuolo said. “We’re kind of goonies. Our motto is [that] the only compelling reason why we’ve been given more love than we need, more food than we need and more resources than we need is so that we may share our excess with those who have been given less — period.”

Claire’s Corner Copia is nestled at the intersection of Chapel St. and College St., overlooking the New Haven Green.