The past couple of weeks I have been going to The Warehouse Cafe in Jersey City to write, work and drink really great coffee. The first thing I need to note is that they have Almond Milk, meaning if you are a vegan (wannabe) like myself and try to stay away from soy products, you can come to The Warehouse and have a delicious Almond Milk Latte. On the real though, I love this place; the coffee, the food, the decor, the eclectic baristas and most importantly the happy feeling you get while sitting in this space.
The Warehouse Cafe is really a gem, F-k you Starbucks!! Seriously, the coffee here makes Starbucks taste like jet fuel…. The wifi is free, and if it’s nice out you can set up shop outside which is pretty amazing. They also have Jazz twice a month on Saturdays and a DJ every first Sunday of every month… now how cool is that?!
During the week this place is bumping, from people like myself working, locals strolling in to get their caffeine fix, and people who are lucky enough to have the time to come chill and read a book or draw…. Man I love Jersey City!! I also happened to catch a few Stylish Jersey City Peeps (posts coming soon!)
I reached out to Julius from The Warehouse to answer a few questions that I just needed to know!
When did you guys open? “The Warehouse opened its doors in the fall of 2009”
Where do you get all your cool artwork and furniture? “Many of our chairs are “found”, discarded , or sold to us at great warehouse-y rates by the now defunct warehouse on Cornelison Avenue in the Bergen Hill section of Jersey City. Our Communal tables started out as the dining table for our home then they graduated down to the cafe. The rest of our furniture items are a mishmash from travel antiquing haunts.
![IMG_7022](https://d1pb8aabzv3848.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_7022-600x800.jpg)
There are artworks that are permanent to the cafe such as a photo by Carrie Mae Weems and a 1950’s print of Paris Review. Then there are the temporary works by iconoclastic artist that we host and show at the cafe every quarter. The current show consists of photographs by Giovanni Santoro (I believe he will be big one day!)… Aside from visual arts there are various items such as old weighing scales, 3 set wooden containers from the Phillippines and self-made terrariums”
In the cafe, you will find random illustrations and drawings by our cadre of creative baristas.
What’s the story behind the Fonz memorial in the bathroom? The Fonz memorial in the bathroom is from a project series by our assistant manager and illustrator, Matt Caputo.
![IMG_7027](https://d1pb8aabzv3848.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_7027-600x450.jpg)
* Side note, since writing this post Matt changed it up to Mrs Doubtfire!! “HELLLOOO”
![IMG_7030](https://d1pb8aabzv3848.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_7030-600x800.jpg)
All the Barista’s are super artsy and eclectic , can you give us some background on them? “Every single one of our baristas, aside from being duly trained Intelligentsia coffee makers, complement the vibe, feel and experience that we foster at The Warehouse- a sense of play (ping pong, scrabble, chess , Monopoly) and a sharing of dreams in a “hate-free” and carefully curated space”
Let’s talk about the eats real quick…. I had two sandwiches. The first was the Garbanzo Meatloaf, a sandwich with CHICKPEAS!! and some other yummy stuff. Really f-ing delicious… and I also tried some sort of fancy grilled cheese (don’t hate on me vegans, it was a moment of weakness), also really good!
I took a conference call from here once, and the call was rather stressful…. but I was smiling the whole time because you know what goddamit , life is good when you are sipping an Almond Milk Intelliengtsia Latte outside on a beautiful day!
See you guys this week….save the Pimp chair for me ok?!
Good read! Love your blog…totally checking this place out!
Thanks Wendy!! you should. It’s a great place!