Grant program helps more small businesses open on Pratt Street [Video]

HARTFORD, Conn. — At 95 Pratt St., the coffee is fresh and so is the ink.

It’s the new storefront in downtown Hartford with an unusual twist: a coffee shop up front and a tattoo parlor in the back.

Refuge Tattoos owner Yaritza Garrido said it’s an idea that’s been brewing in her mind for years.

“When we think of tattoos and how personal they are, one thing that I always realized was that to almost enhance the full experience of being able to make someone feel at home, something like coffee, or something coffee adjacent was going to be integral into being able to make the people feel the experience that I wanted them to feel,” Yaritza Garrido said. 

A total of $160,000 in funding from the “Hart Lift” city grant program made it all …