The Coffee House Scene in Montclair Just Got Groovier
Groov Café and Juice Bar: 127 Valley Road, Montclair, NJ 07042
Groov Café has been in town now for a little more than a
year---and it has carved out a niche among cafe-groupies, vegetarians,
musicians and lots of people who simply want reliable wifi and a good cup of
coffee.
Groov Café is a nice complement to Trend Café and
Coffeehouse downtown, Java Love uptown and the two major Starbucks locations.
And now folks who live on Midland and environs (as well as everyone at
School of Rock) have a walkable coffee destination besides Starbucks---which
feels like a schlep when you’re coffee-deprived.
Groov Café is like a breath of fresh air in a town that
values coffee, community and culture. This centrally located café (with parking
in the back!!) has all of that on top of a vegetarian menu featuring mega-burritos,
ramen, quinoa wraps, muffins and bowls of steeping hot pho that are so large you need a ladle and a very strong slurp-muscle.

And in what can only be considered an act of grace, the
owner, Greg Williams, has put a special item on the menu---the Espresso Blast
Super Smoothie, made with almond milk, espresso, banana, honey, cacao and maca.
Imagine the perfect synergy between espresso and maca---a watercress-like
vegetable with an earthy, nutty taste.
And if you're feeling toxic, Groov has a special juice cleanse regimen for you!
Need any more energy?
At its core, Groov is a café. The coffee is as good as it is
straightforward. Self-served via carafe, it’s reliably hot and brewed with
locally roasted beans. Espresso-based drinks are available upon request.
As interesting as the menu are the people. With Greg
Williams, long-term Montclair resident/computer genius/entrepreneur/mentor at
the helm, Groov is staffed by musician/chef/activists and fire-throwing/hula
hoopers of international acclaim.
There is music everywhere---ranging from folk, to funk,
jazz, indie, rockabilly and a lot of groove-rock a la the Grateful Dead. Almost
any night of the week, there’s an open mic, or a musical event, or just people
hanging out in this beautiful space.
Feeling inspired yet?
So what does it feel like to sit down at Groov? Good. Really
good. Groov is a refurbished storefront on Valley, with high tin ceilings, stolid
wooden furniture and eclectic art featuring a painting of Satchmo, sculpture,
objets d’art, numerous tchotochkes and a Civil War map.
Dozens of bottles of
hot sauce
That’s right. It’s here. Hot sauce and coffee---coffee and
hot sauce. Talk about a metabolic boost. On top of the mantel in the main café space
there are literally dozens of bottles of hot sauce, ranging from sweet chili, to burning
hot. Greg picks up hot sauce wherever he goes. Why? Because people love hot
sauce, and it’s perfect for dousing a homemade empanada.
Light literally pours into Groov during the day, and at night
the streetlights and ambient sounds waft in to create a sense of adventure,
which is heightened by all of the creative, interesting people around. Sometimes
it’s evocative of the 1970’s, or the 1990’s, or 2016---with a hint of the
future thrown in.
If you answered yes, to any of the above, Groov is your
spot. See you there!
Comments
Or, maybe, just maybe, there is something in this HS & C thing;
From the Tao Te Ching;
The whole world recognizes the beautiful as the beautiful,
yet this is only the ugly;
the whole world recognizes the good as the good,
yet this is only the bad.
Thus Something and Nothing produce each other.
The difficult and the easy complement each other;
The long and the short offset each other;
The high and the low incline toward each other;
Note and sound harmonize with each other;
Before and after follow each other...
Maybe hot sauce and coffee were what Lao-Tzu had in mind all along. After all, everyone knows that old Lao was fond of a cup of Joe.