Claire's Corner Copia is a vegetarian restaurant serving New Haven since 1975 and it has become a shared memory for many Yalies over the past decades.

The family-run restaurant business — only in New Haven — started when Claire LaPia and Frank Criscuolo got married on February 22, 1975*. Claire was a registered nurse and Frank was a musician who played bass and lead guitar. Deeply in love, they wanted to be together as much as possible and working together was the way to accomplish that goal.

Claire loved to cook and while they were both raised in traditional Italian-American families, each in a family of really good cooks and bakers, Claire's mother, Anna Bigio LaPia was “obsessed” with eating delicious, fresh foods, homemade food, with lots of fruits and vegetables, grains and beans. “Eat this, it's good for you” and “We don't eat foods with ingredients I can't pronounce” were her mantras.

Claire and Frank Criscuolo opened Claire's Corner Copia on September 17, 1975. The rest is all history, as people say and Yalies remember.

*Source: According to the restaurant’s website

Claire's Corner Copia
1000 Chapel St, New Haven, CT 06510