A beautiful fruit tart is just one of the many pastries Black Cap prepares for its patrons.
What’s in a name? In the case of Black Cap Coffee & Bakery of Vermont, a story of evolution and commitment authored by Laura Vilalta, the owner of four cafés in some of the state’s most notable towns.
Laura didn’t start Black Cap. Instead, she bought it from the first owners in 2012, two years after she moved to America from Barcelona. At her citizenship ceremony, Laura had the opportunity to speak about what being an American meant to her. She said that she loves being a citizen of this country but, even more importantly, a citizen of Vermont. When others asked her where else she had lived in the United States, she couldn’t answer. She has only lived in Stowe, Vermont.
Laura and I met on a crystal-clear morning in her adopted hometown. Our table was crowded with breakfast fare: perfectly foamed cappuccinos and big, delicate croissants, which Laura rightfully asserts are “as good as any you might have in France.”
During her years of owning the café, she has refined it into what it is now—a warm and inviting place for locals and tourists alike, a place people can visit at any time during the day, any day of the year, except for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
If you’ve been in the Stowe shop recently, you’ve likely noticed its new configuration and the new counter, including the massive pastry case built into it. At any time, you may find blueberry lemon tarts, German chocolate cupcakes, and hot and cold sandwiches behind the glass. Don’t be too distracted or else you’ll miss the small case by the register containing strawberry cheese Danish, cinnamon buns, and other breakfast pastries.
It wouldn’t be possible to produce all the pastries Black Cap offers in the kitchen at Stowe. Instead, most pastries are made at the Waterbury location in the beautiful train station. There, you can watch bakers mixing doughs, forming pastries, and rotating buttery, edible works of art in and out of the oven. But why watch pastries being made when you can eat them just feet away in the café? The seating invites friends to meet to share a slice of apple crumb cake, coffee lovers to enjoy a latte while working, and tourists to plan their next big adventure over a cold drink.
The Waterbury café and the shops in Stowe, Morrisville, and Burlington add to the vibrancy and authenticity of these quintessential Vermont places. “We want to make it clear,” Laura says, “that we are local people and a local business with its own local character.” That’s why Laura expanded the name to Black Cap Coffee & Bakery of Vermont.
Besides bringing great coffee and pastries to more people, the added locations allowed Laura to hire more employees, put structure around the administration of the business, and offer health insurance to her employees. “The size allows you to be a good employer,” she says. “I see health care as something you have to provide.” Who says coffee isn’t good for you?
