ART ALL DAY
SATURDAY SEPT 16 2023
12-6 PM | TRENTON
Self-Guided Tour
TRENTON COFFEE CULTURE TOUR
Discover Trenton's coffee spots, current and future. Curated by Lauren Otis. Bike it if you're caffeinated enough, or choose your own mode! Tour starts and ends at Artworks, 19 Everett Alley [show map].
01
One Up One Down Roastery and Caffe
750 Cass Street
Regular hours: Mon-Fri 7 am -1 pm, Sat-Sun 8 am - 1 pm
Trenton’s own boutique coffee roastery, One Up One Down is a husband-wife-border collie-owned coffee roastery and caffe (yes, two Fs, Italian spelling). According to Vince Camiolo, who founded and owns OUOD with his wife Natalie Rockwell, “We have a simple mission: roast consciously-sourced specialty coffee for a well-balanced cup, and present it in an unpretentious, down-to-earth setting.”
In 2019, OUOD took over the former Trenton Coffee House and Roaster space located in the old Trenton Polish Falcons social club building on Cass Street (vintage neon sign still perched above the entrance), and opened after a full renovation. OUOD is a welcoming place where you can get an expertly brewed cup of coffee, pull up a chair in front of the roaster to kibitz and learn of your brew’s origins, or settle into a soft sofa with a friend or a good book.
02
Palo De Azucar Café
862 South Broad Street
Regular hours: Mon-Fri 7 am - 6 pm, Sat 9 am - 4 pm, Sun closed
Palo De Azucar Café carries forward the deep Latin American roots of the coffee trade in this beautifully renovated vintage retail storefront. Guillermo Gomez and his wife Dina Ochoa-Gomez renovated the space (preserving the original tin ceiling) and founded Finca Café in 2020. Guillermo was born and raised on a coffee growing farm in Colombia, the son and grandson of coffee growers. When Guillermo was 15, his father was killed by guerrillas, and he fled with his family to the U.S. seeking political asylum.
Finca Café was a return to his roots, but the COVID-19 pandemic made operating the café too much of a burden on top of other family businesses. Guillermo and Dina closed temporarily, then handed over the shop to Miosotis Belmarez, who opened Palo De Azucar Café in July 2021. We're happy to welcome this lovely addition to Trenton's coffee and foodie scene!
03
Starbucks Community Store
102 South Warren Street
Regular hours: Mon-Fri 6:30 am - 6 pm, Sat-Sun 7 am - 3 pm
Opened in 2017 as part of Starbucks’ Community Store Initiative seeking to provide economic opportunity in underserved rural and urban communities across the country, the Trenton Starbucks has sought to hire locally, and create a dedicated community space here in Trenton. This includes weekly open mike events and offering its space to local artists for monthly exhibits of their work.
The murals inside are by local artists LANK and Luv1. Exhibits are currently curated by Trenton-based photographer C.a. Shofed, whose Mill Hill studio is also part of Art All Day this year.
04
Copacetic Coffee
126 South Warren Street
Under construction.
Copacetic has yet to open and is still a work in progress, but deserves a place on the Trenton Coffee Culture tour for its pedigree alone.
Located in the same space once occupied by Café Olé Coffeehouse (you know you’re a longstanding Trentonian if you remember hanging out at Café Olé in the 2000s!), Copacetic is the brainchild of Yusef Komunyakaa, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and Trenton resident. Copacetic also happens to be the name of the 1984 poetry collection that first gained Komunyakaa’s widespread recognition.
05
Kafé Ojala
Trenton Farmers Market
960 Spruce Street, Lawrence, NJ
Wed-Sun 9 am – 3 pm
Yes, Kafé Ojala is technically based in Lawrence, not Trenton (even if it is located at the Trenton Farmers Market), but Alex Rodriguez is so dialed into Trenton that this great spot has to be a part of the Trenton Coffee Culture Tour! Alex’s roots are in Utuado, Puerto Rico, a town in the central mountains of the island which is known for its coffee beans.
A big supporter of Trenton artists and events, Alex’s generously donated and expertly brewed coffee often fuels remarkable creativity here. Just one example is his showing up at the crack of dawn (literally) on September 4 at the Trenton Transit Center to give the Stepping Into Tomorrow asphalt art crew much-needed caffeine to fuel the install of this monumental public art project. He even returned later in the day with more coffee to make sure we got the job done! (Learn more about Stepping Into Tomorrow during Lauren's 3:00 p.m. walking tour, or visit artworkstrenton.org/stepping-into-tomorrow/).