Meet Tony LaRusso, Temporary Coffee Concierge and Saline's Most Caffeinated Man Saturday

With the Saline Farmers Market opening Saturday, Karen Carrigan forecasted a high turnout of customers seeking coffee, tea, pastries and sandwiches and more at Carrigan Cafe, her popular cafe in downtown Saline.

She welcomed more customers. But she was also committed to maintaining social distancing and doing her part to fight the spread of COVID-19. Carrigan Cafe allows six customers in the cafe at a time and they must space six feet apart as they await service.

Carrigan tapped one of her most loyal customers, Tony LaRusso, to help her prevent too many from entering the cafe at once.

"She decided she needed a coffee concierge," LaRusso said. "So that's my job here today."

LaRusso stood on the South Ann Arbor Street sidewalk and, when a crowd developed within the cafe, prevented people from entering until others exited. In some ways, he acted like a bouncer at a busy nightclub. But he was a lot friendlier.

Perhaps because Carrigan was plying him with coffee in exchange for his service.

"I'm on about my sixth cup," LaRusso said at around 11 a.m. 

He actually planned to drink 11 since he uses coffee as fuel for his runs.

LaRusso was pleased to see some of the bustle return to downtown Saline on a sunny Saturday morning.

"Traffic's been great all day. People are out and about. It's nice to see," LaRusso said.

Meet Tony LaRusso, the most caffeinated man in Saline today. pic.twitter.com/A9RiEjj7Ty

— TheSalinePost (@TheSalinePost) May 2, 2020

More News from Saline

• BASKETBALL: Coaches Rankings Put Saline at 7 in D1 The unbeaten Saline varsity girls basketball team is ranked seventh in MHSAA Division 1 by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan.
• What to do in Saline - Monday, Jan 6 - Monday, Jan 13 Check out our community calendar to find out what's happening this week.