Nine Bar Cafe

After several months undergoing renovations and setting up, Nine Bar Cafe opened up quietly at 18 Erie Street, not long before their neighbor Carrino Provisions, and quickly became one of the more popular coffee destinations in town.

The proprietor, Stefania Cocozza, hails from Rome and her passion for quality Italian coffee is well-translated here. It's quickly become part of my weekend routine over the past few months and I highly recommend you make it part of yours.

The espresso based drinks are really what you're after here. The regular coffee is good, but the espresso is the star of the show, ideally to be drunk in-store. However, as it's almost always crowded, taking it to go is fairly unavoidable. Preferably with a pastry or two.

Prato Bakery is Opening!

Prato Bakery, one of the many locations being developed along Erie St., announced today that they are planning on opening this Saturday, March 7th.

A Walk Down Erie St.

It seems like new restaurants are being announced by the day in Jersey City and Erie Street in particular is the recipient of a lot of new development.

Beginning on Erie and Newark, I took a walk going north towards Hamilton Park and saw a space in development every couple of blocks. While most of the spaces being worked on had papered-up windows, progress is definitely being made.

First up, of course, is the much-anticipated and long-awaited Talde and Carrino Provisions. They've been estimating an opening sometime in November which seems possible, but not guaranteed. But looking around, the space has definitely come a long way. All the construction areas blocking the sidewalk are gone and most of the renovation work seems to be done. While the windows are covered up now, on a previous walk-by, there was furniture and shelving in place and signs were up.

Down the block, in what used to be Balance Hair Salon, there will be a new coffeehouse called 9 Bar Cafe and per WiredJC, they're hoping to be open in approximately 5 weeks, around mid-December. I tried googling the name and didn't come up with much besides a coffeehouse in London, so that's still a bit of mystery.