Espresso Air opens second location on South Sandusky Street in downtown Delaware

DELAWARE — Espresso Air is expanding the caffeine scene in downtown Delaware, with the cafe now open at 34 S. Sandusky St.

The cafe officially, and quietly, opened Aug. 12.

Talip Kucuker first opened Espresso Air in Uptown Westerville seven years ago. Now, four years later, his sister Eslem Kucuker is expanding the brand to downtown Delaware.

Owning her own shop is new to 23-year-old Kucuker, but working in a coffee shop and understanding the behind-the-scenes operations is not.

“I’ve always wanted to open a coffee shop of my own. I’ve been working (at the Westerville location) since I was 17, and it has become a place that didn’t feel like a job,” Kucuker said. “The customers, we really became like family.”

Kucuker bought the downtown Delaware storefront in January and has spent the last seven months renovating the space to fit her aesthetic. When she bought it, she anticipated to open within three months.

“Each day, we would uncover a new challenge. And because it’s my first time doing any of this, it was already a challenge from the start,” she said.

The store is now open with the front seating area only, but there is a back area that will follow shortly thereafter.

“I really want to focus on hospitality here,” she said. “You don’t come here just to get a coffee and leave, you come here to talk to people, talk to the baristas, have a slow experience. I really want it to be like that here.”

Espresso Air will be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

A business rooted in family support

Kucuker found the Espresso Air cafe location on Facebook marketplace in January and immediately sent it in the family group chat.

Everyone agreed they wanted to help Kucuker transform the space into her dream cafe, and that they have the experience to do so.

“I was always around my brother and my mom who has a restaurant. My little brother has his own dealership. Everyone has their own business,” Kucuker said.

Her brother roasts his own coffee beans and uses them at the Westerville location, so Kucuker will do the same.

“My family really, really supported me and they pushed me because they knew that this is that I wanted to do,” she said.

Kucuker hopes people will come and enjoy her new cafe in Delaware, but she also hopes people check out the other cafes in town, too.

“I’m anti-loyalty, which sounds bad, but I don’t want them to just come here. I want them to support all the coffee shops in the area because we’re a community,” she said.

Seasonal treats on the menu

The menu will include most of the staple menu items from the Westerville location, which features lattes, cold brews, teas, drip coffee and now matcha.

Espresso Air uses Torani syrups, but Kucuker said both locations will soon switch to Peasant House Syrups, a Columbus-based syrup maker.

She also said every two months, the menu changes to feature a new seasonal flavor. Right now, that flavor is tiramisu, and the seasonal pastry is coffee cake.

As for the food, Kucuker plans to launch with a stocked pastry case with treats from her mother’s cafe and bakery, Tulip Cafe.

Favorite items from Tulip Cafe include the feta bagel, Turkish delight jelly bars, and other staples, Kucuker said.

She also has a kitchen space to expand the food menu in the future once she finds her footing.

“I really want to do something like that in the future, hopefully once we get some customers coming in and once we know what we’re doing here,” Kucuker said.