Some lighter fare today for your weekend reading. We talk about pizza aplenty here; maybe it’s rubbing off on others. At the risk of turning this into a pizza blog, there’s been a couple of pizza-related items in the past month.
Tag Archives: coffeehouse
Kataluma Chai opens next month
Kataluma Chai Company will open next month with a grand opening weekend Oct. 16-18 when patrons can get a free cup of chai latte or free scoop of ice cream during the opening weekend. A ribbon cutting ceremony is slated for Oct. 14.
The gourmet tea cafe at 1470 Main St. will offer chai teas, coffee and bagels, breakfast pastries, and desserts, in addition to free Wi-Fi and study areas. (I don’t know about you but I think we could use some decent bagels within walking distance of downtown.) The cafe is leasing about 650 square feet from the adjacent Niece’s Pieces.
It’s the first Kataluma Chai on the East Coast, with existing locations in Lakewood, Colo. and Silverdale, Wash. Rahway residents Aisha Thomas-Petit and Danielle Etienne decided to open the cafe after a visit to Colorado.
Our coffee cup runneth over
So the “Coming Soon” sign at Mr. G’s a couple months ago wasn’t an exaggeration. It’s been open for more than a week, with an “official” grand opening planned on Monday. Last year we could barely find a cafe or coffee shop and now we can expect three by summer’s end (Kataluma Chai and Inthemix).
Dessert cafe coming to corner space
Kim’s In The Mix, a dessert cafe, soon will occupy the corner of West Main and Irving streets.
Rafael Ortiz, who owns the property at 209-219 W. Main St. along with several other downtown sites, said some interior work still remains to be done. He estimated the shop could be in operation within a month.
The cafe signed a two-year lease with an option for three years on the 1,200-square-foot space at $1,500 a month, according to Ortiz. It will replace a camera and phone store that left in December.
Summer opening pegged for Kataluma Chai Co.
One year we’re bemoaning the lack of coffeehouse/cafe options downtown, now we’ve got at least two coming our way soon; well, one coffee shop and one chai cafe if you want to be technical about it.
Kataluma Chai Company expects to open this summer, by June or July depending on how long the city’s permit process takes, according to Aisha Thomas Petit, a co-owner along with Danielle Etienne.
Kataluma will take up about 650 square feet at 1470 Main St., leasing out part of the property from the adjacent Nieces Pieces, a home decor shop that had occupied the entire site to the corner of Lewis Street.
No word on how long a lease has been signed but Petit said that in addition to their signature chai tea lattes, the cafe will serve ice cream, gourmet sweets and coffee, as well as offering “Wi-FI, live entertainment and special events.”
Mr. G’s Coffee ‘coming soon’
It looks safe to say that Cuppy’s Coffee is D.O.A. in Rahway.
Cuppy’s? Cuppy’s? Bueller?
Back in June, Cuppy’s signed a lease for one of the first retail spaces at Carriage City Plaza. At the time, its Web site touted locations “coming soon” to East Brunswick, Phillipsburg and Whippany. Earlier this week, when I checked their Web site, they were down to zero locations “coming soon” in New Jersey. Last night, they were just down. Trying to get to the site, I was greeted with a “Page Load Error.” Not sure if that’s temporary but fear not, the Cuppy’s MySpace page is still active (although he hasn’t logged in since September).
A quick Web search reveals quite a bit of info about Cuppy’s, some of it dating back well over a year. And not much of it good, if it’s accurate, especially if you consider the Web sites are called Ripoff Report and Unhappy Franchisee. Here’s some franchise info, which indicates required liquid capital of $100,000 and net worth of $50,000. The complaints pre-date a change in ownership this past May.
It’s not all bad news though. Apparently, Cuppy’s can make it in South Africa, Mechanicsburg, Pa. and Wilmington, N.C., among others.
Three distinct retail districts downtown
Three distinct retail districts, with specific styles tailored to each, are recommended within downtown: