CAMDEN, NJ — At a glance the chalkboard menu at Nuanced Cafe may seem relatively straightforward, complete with your lattes, chai teas and loaf slices.
But owner Rosemari Hicks will be quick to recite the list of Camden vendors and micro-business owners reflected therein.
Something similar could be said for the decor of the newly-opened downtown coffee shop: enlarged photos by a local photographer, colorful designs by a visual artist and a wall covered in positive phrases to live by from a muralist.
In fact, the place is sprawling with similar hyper local touches that Hicks, a Merchantville resident for the past 20 years, hopes to see grow even more following the café’s Jan. 11 soft opening.
“I just remember one of the best coffee shops that I had ever been to was one where there were some musicians that happened to pop in. They just opened up their cases and started playing,” Hicks told TAPinto Camden. “It's that level of comfort I want to see…you can also, you know, come in to enjoy your newspaper, maybe get away from the office or read a book.”
Hicks understands how much the coronavirus pandemic and all the restrictions it brings impacts that mission. Last January, when she caught wind of the vacant space, formerly home to a juice bar, she wouldn’t know what March would bring,
That included planning for the opening while taking care of her health, getting the new space up to code and balancing her other business (a shared office space called CoWork Street).
Still, she pressed on with the opening and is optimistic that with a wider vaccine availability later this year, her giant calendar of events - set up toward the end of the cafés' counter — will fill up with poetry readings, live performances and other community gatherings.
“I just want to let people know that we're here. We’re an African American-, women-owned business that is looking to be a part of the ever evolving and growing city of Camden,” Hicks said.
So far, a handful of customers can sit at socially-distanced tables in the café while wearing face masks. A small multiple sclerosis (MS) support group will also meet at the café soon but Hicks assured they are adhering to strict health protocols.
Hicks said she's hopeful with students ultimately returning to the Rutgers-Camden campus, as well as all the other schools in the vicinity and City Hall within walking distance, that by year's end she will have steady traffic.
When that time comes that it is safe to return indoors, Hicks will also look to host an official grand opening.
Why “Nuanced”?
“We have the whole redevelopment of the city going on, you see it on the waterfront but elsewhere too. We have the colleges that are growing pretty quickly and expanding. Then you have the community, the residents that have been here for a while….the undercurrents and nuances to how folks feel about what's happening. I just wanted this to be a place where we can all basically come together and get to know each other, to bring what's underneath to the surface and just see that the differences really make no difference,” Hicks said.
“We're all part of a beautiful tapestry or pattern,” she continued, “and we can embrace that a little more openly than I think we sometimes do.”
To keep building on that tapestry, Hicks says Nuanced Cafe will have an open door policy as far collaborations. She’s already been in talks with the IDEA Center, which opened next door on Market Street last September, as well as other food vendors and local booksellers.
Nuanced Cafe will not only be nimble as far as how its menu looks, since customers can pitch a drink (hint: a few have already). But the wall in the seating area is purposefully empty - with photographers and painters able to showcase their work and even sell it with all profits going to them.
While Hicks is happy to see corporations and companies in the area support small and micro-businesses with money, she says she wants to see more sustainable efforts in the future too.
“Nobody's looking for a handout. People are looking for a way to grow and stay in business,” she said.
An encouraging recent example, she noted, was a grant program from the Philadelphia 76ers to partner with micro-business owners and provide marketing strategy resources.
Nuance Cafe is located at 225 Market St. in Camden.
To contact the cafe call 609-332-3084. For more information visit www.nuancedcafe.com/ or www.facebook.com/NuancedCafe.
Scroll through the 9-photo gallery above.
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January 27, 2021 at 03:12AM
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