There are immediate signs that a coffee shop is hospitable toward the laptop-toting student and remote-work crowd: It’s big, it’s got outlets, and the Wi-Fi password is easy to find. Jitters Café Lounge in Burlington checks those boxes. The cosmopolitan all-day café sprawls through the gr ound-floor corner unit of downtown’s new Burlington Square, which rises triumphantly from what was known as “the Pit.” Of its 75-plus seats, some are luxe couches; others are small tables hidden in a back hallway. Internet info is prominently displayed on a whiteboard behind the register, and in just a quick glance I spied half a dozen places to plug in. Jitters’ owners and friendly staff seem to want people to linger, and they have an all-day menu that encourages multiple meals. For breakfast and lunch, that menu is a carbon copy of the reliable one at Jitters Café in Melrose, Mass., opened 13 years ago by University of Vermont alum Tim LaPrade. When the Burlington spot launched on December 23, it added a full bar and a rotating “bar bites” menu, too. “The one in Melrose is more mom-and-pop,” LaPrade said. “We built everything ourselves, learned how to lay tile, hang cabinets, all of that. Going into [Burlington Square], we knew we needed to step up.” “We get this fun extra bit,” co-owner and general manager Sierra Beardsworth said of the additional offerings, which currently include nachos ($12) and a smash burger ($14). Last week, bar manager Abbey Haas launched a full menu of espresso martinis ($15 to $16; $22 for a flight of three) befitting the Jitters name. Like the shop’s elaborately flavored specialty lattes, they’re made with coffee from Atomic Coffee Roasters in Beverly, Mass. “Any time of the day, we’ve got what you need,” Beardsworth said. “It’s a place for everybody.” Sierra Beardsworth at Jitters Café Lounge Credit: Jordan Barry Beardsworth, a 17-year restaurant industry vet, was most recently assistant manager at EB Strong’s Prime Steakhouse on Church Street in Burlington. She met her husband, Niko, while working at South Burlington’s Windjammer Restaurant Upper Deck Pub; he’s now the Windjammer’s general manager as well as a co-owner of Jitters with his wife and two college friends, LaPrade and George Martin. As the day-to-day point person, Beardsworth said she’s already seeing regulars from the new building’s apartments, nearby businesses and the construction crew working on the tower next door. The constant availability of Jitters’ four types of avocado toast ($11.50 to $12.50) and 14 pressed panini options ($13 to $14.50) should appeal to guests staying in the building’s AC Hotel Burlington, whose travel schedules can mean odd mealtimes. But it’s a bonus for locals, too, Beardsworth said: In the café’s first six weeks, there have been a number of evening DoorDash orders for build-your-own breakfast sandwiches. I stopped in recently for a more predictable noontime lunch. As I unpacked my laptop at a sunny high-top seat and waited for a friend, I watched the Olympics on a TV hung on the emerald green-tiled wall behind the bar. My choice of a tuna melt ($14) might have been subconsciously influenced by the games — or, more accurately, “Heated Rivalry.” The hot Canadian hockey show has done wonders for the old-school sandwich’s popularity. But Jitters’ version has always been surprisingly popular, LaPrade later told me. “I never envisioned that tuna would be one of our bestsellers,” he said, noting that it’s not overly mayo-y, like some can be. I appreciated the tuna’s tangy pop of pickles and an added smoky, salty crunch from thick slices of bacon, all stacked high on nicely toasted wheat. Some may write off Jitters as a could-be-anywhere hotel café, and there is something unusual — for Burlington — in its swanky appearance. But the Queen City needs more places to hang out, and the Jitters crew is happy to oblige. And isn’t an espresso martini on a comfy couch more pleasant than an empty pit? Jitters Café Lounge, 130 Bank St., Suite 105, Burlington, 802-540-3070, jitters-cafe.com The original print version of this article was headlined “Stay Awhile | In the new Burlington Square, Jitters Café Lounge buzzes all day” The post Jitters Café Lounge Buzzes All Day in Burlington Square appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less