A Story About Fancy Toast, Sort Of

Carrelli also found safety in simply being well-known — in attracting as many acquaintances as possible. That’s why, she tells me, she had always worked in coffee shops. When she is feeling well, Carrelli is a swashbuckling presence, charismatic and disarmingly curious about people. “She will always make a friend wherever she is,” says Noelle Olivo, a San Francisco escrow and title agent who was a regular customer at Farley’s and later gave Carrelli a place to stay for a couple of months. “People are taken aback by her, but she reaches out.”

This gregariousness was in part a survival mechanism, as were her tattoos and her daily uniform of headscarves, torn jeans, and crop tops. The trick was to be identifiable: The more people who recognized her, the more she stood a chance of being able to recognize herself.

This Pacific Standard story is sort of a story about artisanal toast and mostly a story about how a woman named Giuletta Carrelli dealt with her mental illness and started a successful coffee (and coconut) shop in San Francisco. One more important piece of information before you go read it: Carrelli has freckles tattooed on her cheeks. Eat your heart out, Gucci Mane.

Any ‘Pinners in the Bay ever been to The Trouble Coffee & Coconut Club? [Pacific Standard]