Drinking Coffee All the Time

I love NYC during the holiday season. Crisp air, leaves with residual hints of red and yellow, holiday bazaars, ambient street music, and plenty of plein-air noshing and coffee-drinking. Last week, my friend and I took our kids to the playground near Union Square and at one point, I ducked out for coffee. I was determined to try a new place (at least new for me). Joe Coffee at 16 th St. off of Union Square pulled me in with its powder-blue branding and no-nonsense name. Joe Coffee was started in 2003 by Jonathan Rubinstein, with the goal of producing high-quality, amazing-tasting coffee served with “warm hospitality.” There are now 22 locations throughout the city. The coffee was amazing. But I wanted to know more. Sometimes you listen to a company’s spiel about sustainability, diversity, inclusivity, and fair trade, and you realize it’s largely performative. There is a lot of virtue-signaling in the coffee industry. I wanted to know where Joe Coffee stood. Discovering JNP Coffee

  Exciting news from the Montclair Art Museum (MAM)! The new Cornerstone Café made its debut last week when it opened to the public for the first time. Cornerstone features a full menu of coffee, tea, espresso-based drinks, and pastries. Located on the first floor, Cornerstone is nicely situated near the coatroom, with tables and a seating area strewn with art-related reading materials---and of course, there’s wifi. The new cafe is staffed by individuals from the Montclair High School transition program and Jewish Vocational Services of Metrowest and is open on Fridays from 10 am to 4 pm . The opening of Cornerstone is part of the museum’s new free-entry Friday program, which basically invites visitors in to experience the museum in a relaxed, open, inclusive, artistically expansive space. While traditionally MAM’s galleries have been free to visitors on Fridays, the new program is unprecedented in the museum’s history—and coffee is the cornerstone of it all. (smile/wink) On F