It has been a long journey through the world of coffee, but now in their third leg of making a business out of it, Franc Gambatese, a former member of West Windsor council, and his wife, Mickey DeFranco, will see the culmination of their efforts in the opening on Saturday, November 22, of the Grover’s Mill Coffeehouse, with a theme for their coffee shop that is as unique as the history of the place it represents.##M:[more]##
The two have prided themselves on designing the spot to be the destination coffeehouse for West Windsor. Involved in the industry since 2005, the couple began as an online business, acting as the “middle man” in wholesale and distribution of coffee and products through Ambex Inc. But their goals did not end there. “We became very passionate about it,” says DeFranco. “The more knowledge you get, the more you want it. You want your own signature on it.”
So about two years ago, the couple opened their own roastery under the name Grover’s Mill Coffee Company, and have been roasting their own coffee since. They both took a trip to Florida to become officially certified as roasters, and the two are members of the Specialty Coffee Association of America and the Roasters Guild. “It’s not like brain surgery, but at the same time, it gives you a lot of satisfaction,” Gambatese says of the process. “It’s an art.”
With the goal of opening the coffee shop in the heart of Grover’s Mill — the location of the fictitious Martian landing reported during Orson Welles’ famous “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast in 1938 — Gambatese entered a land deal two years ago to purchase the red barn-like structure on Cranbury Road to convert it to a coffee shop.
The building was formerly the location of a lawnmower repair shop, and Gambatese negotiated with current owner Bob Kemp for over a year before settling on a final price, which neither would disclose at the time. He planned on spending more than the purchase price to undertake a slew of improvements to the building, as well as put in new sidewalks and traffic-calming measures. He also had to submit an application for a zoning variance because the property was located in a residential zone, and he was faced with some restrictions, including parking and design issues. During the application review process, concerns were raised about possible noise and levels of entertainment. Ultimately, there were some restrictions placed on uses and design, right down to the color in which the building was painted, but Gambatese says the zoning board did a “a really good job” on the application for what his family envisioned.
Since then, plans have moved the business to the Southfield Shopping Center, right next to the Rite Aid, after complications ended the contract a year-and-a-half into the deal. Gambatese said he would not disclose details out of respect for the current owner.
Still, Gambatese says in hindsight, the new location on Princeton-Hightstown Road is a better option because there are no time restrictions on the hours of operation, there is plenty of parking available, and there are three popular restaurants in the plaza — not all of which serve coffee and dessert, as he plans to. He also plans to draw business from the patrons of the karate and dance studios, with parents stopping in for a cup of coffee while waiting to pick up their children.
The couple also plans to offer various forms of entertainment to “try to add to the fabric of the community,” Gambatese says. The couple already have received phone calls from writing and science fiction clubs interested in using the coffee shop to hold events, as well as the West Windsor Arts Council. Every day the shop will offer an afternoon tea at 2 p.m., perhaps drawing in parents who might be waiting for their students to get out of school, and will offer entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights, including, for example, acoustic music or “couple-piece bands.”
“That’s really going to be the fun part,” Gambatese says. “I don’t know if we have any place in West Windsor that has any kind of entertainment on any given night.”
Perhaps even more unique, Gambatese is hoping to offer a course once a week to teach people about the different types of coffees and to teach them how to make a perfect cup.
The couple are not worried about the location in the shopping center, to which people will have to drive, because “the coffee speaks for itself,” and because they have already established a name reputation with the community through fundraising, festivals, and distribution. And prices range from $1.60 for a small to $1.95 for a large cup of coffee, mostly because the couple roasts their own coffee, and there is no middle man. Prices increase, for example, if a customer requests a French-pressed Hawaiian Kona or a Jamaican Blue Mountain.
Originally from Paterson, N.J., Gambatese, whose father was an accountant for 35 years and is currently the mayor of South Brunswick and whose mother was a school teacher, has wanted to run his own coffeehouse since he was in college. After he earned his degree in broadcast communication, he worked at a special effects studio in New York and later owned his own carpentry business on the side. He met DeFranco, a choreographer originally from Edison, through one of her students at the time.
A trained choreographer with a certificate in dance education, DeFranco was teaching an adult class when one of her students was working with Gambatese.
It might also not be a coincidence that on their first date, they went out for coffee. And on Gambatese’s 40th birthday, the two took a trip to Barcelona.
“We started every morning and ended every night in one coffee shop,” said Gambatese. From just spending that time in the same shop, the couple felt like they really got to know the regulars and felt they wanted to do the same back at home.
The result has been a marriage of their passion for coffee and their work ethic into running a business that has become more like a hobby than a job. Gambatese likens it to what the couple having been telling the nine employees they have been training — that there is home, and work, and that “the third place is the place you want to be when you aren’t at the first two places.”
The couple is so passionate about their work that executing the plan for opening the shop happened more quickly than expected. DeFranco says they were operating on a five-year plan to opening the shop, but plans actually came to fruition in two-and-a-half years.
And most of the reason has to do with keeping it in the family, they say. Their immediate family members have been involved with a variety of aspects of the business. DeFranco’s father, at 79, runs deliveries of coffee to local businesses and was an “unbelievable force in getting this off the ground,” says DeFranco. Because he keeps pushing them when they feel tired from the whole process of trying to get everything taken care of, they have given him the designation of the “heart and soul of the company.”
The family has been involved in the work together since they have been distributing — about 95 percent of their business comes from business-to-business work, as the company serves as a coffee distributor to many area coffee shops, as well as all over the nation. The company also provides its brews during local festivals and events, and also helps with fundraising for many organizations, including local sports teams and schools.
And not only has DeFranco’s father been involved, but their three children, particularly their 17-year-old and 15-year-old daughters, Joey and Jaedi, both students at High School South, will also be baristas at the new shop, and will be spending their Friday and Saturday nights there with their parents, during the two nights the family will all be working together.
Joey, 17, has created all of the company’s designs and logos. Each flavor of coffee comes in a bag with the company’s mascot character — Broo, a Martian coffee bean — engaged in activities relating to the flavor’s name. For example, the Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee flavor depicts the character standing in front of a blue mountain enjoying his coffee from a mug. She also designed the company’s main logo.
DeFranco says she is training Jaedi to do the bookkeeping and to help with other managerial tasks. And J.P., the couple’s 7-year-old son, a student at Dutch Neck, has created his own position in the family business — “He’s going to be the coffee grinder at the coffee house,” the couple recalls him saying. “he’s going to have to fight Pops for that position,” Gambatese jokes.
Gambatese, who served on West Windsor council between 2003 and 2007, is currently the general manager at Lowe’s Home Improvement. He designed and built all of the cabinetry and shelving in the coffee house, and the whole family was involved in scraping the cement off the floor.
Adorning the walls are posters and memorabilia surrounding Grover’s Mill’s extraterrestrial history, another reason their idea seemed to thrive. Originally, the couple had planned to move into the red Grover’s Mill structure and open up shop there, but the deal fell through, and the couple found the store’s home in the Southfield shopping center to be perfectly suitable. “It’s not a 200-year-old barn, but it’s part of the community we want to be in,” Gambatese says.
Grover’s Mill — the site of the alien invasion in the radio adaptation of Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds, which sent panic through the nation and tri-state area on October 30, 1938 — has grown to become an integral part of West Windsor’s history and attraction over the 70 years. It lends itself to alien-themed coffees, like the couple’s house blend, Martian Mocha Java, the recipe for which they will not divulge, not even to their employees.
They have even designated their coffee grinder as the “Red Planet” after its color and size, and have a mural of Grover’s Mill done by Robert Huemmel of Plainsboro adorning the wall in the seating area. War of the Worlds posters signed by Ann Robinson, who starred in the original War of the Worlds movie — and played Dakota Fanning’s grandmother in the more recent adaptation — are posted around, and the couple say they will be installing glass table tops with newspaper clippings in view underneath to complete the look.
The family, who became friends with Ann Robinson when she contacted them when she wanted to come up for a visit to Grover’s Mill about four years ago, has even drawn business from the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell, New Mexico. Robinson later brought bags of the Grover’s Mill coffee with her to the museum, and the museum liked the theme and design of the coffee for the shop there.
In addition to drawing clients from all over the place, the couple’s system of production enables the them to guarantee that one would be hard-pressed to find fresher coffee, as they roast to order, and not the other way around. In fact, the couple employ this philosophy when it comes to wholesale and distribution as well, advising their clients to allow for three days while they roast and prepare the coffee after an order is placed, and they hand-deliver the products themselves whenever possible.
The roasting process in itself is very artistic, they say, comparing it to those who specialize in brewing wine, which has 150 different compounds that can create the perfect taste. Coffee, however, has 850, they point out. “The job of a roaster is to pull the best qualities out of each,” Gambatese explains.
And customers can be assured they are getting fresh coffee, as the Red Planet is in plain view near the back of the shop, so customers can catch a glimpse themselves. And the family also does gift baskets and has a section of the store sectioned off for the gift shop featuring Grover’s Mill Coffee mugs, shirts, and other memorabilia.
Because of the success the company has seen with its wholesale and distribution, Gambatese says this year is the second year business has been up triple times the amount. Despite the faltering economy nationwide, the family is not concerned about the implications of running a Mom and Pop shop in West Windsor.
“In this economy, family-owned businesses are few and far between,” says Gambatese. But the War of the Worlds theme is “something that’s exclusive” to West Windsor. And “it’s not like going to any other coffee house — starting with the coffee and ending with the ambiance.”
The coffee shop, located at 295 Princeton-Hightstown Road, is located next to Rite Aid. It will open on Saturday, November 22, with a grand opening planned for Friday, November 28. Hours are 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday; 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday; and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.
