In a Princeton landscape before chains like Starbucks, before every corner promised another bubble tea shop, and before Princeton became the lively cultural center it is now both statewide and beyond, there was Small World Coffee.
As the first designated coffee shop in the area, Small World Coffee opened on December 22, 1993, arriving just a few days before Christmas. It was only a matter of time before it would herald in a new era for downtown Princeton.
The historic home of the Princetonian coffee scene started at 14 Witherspoon Street. Kick back with the vintage vibe known for fostering a creative culture in the Central Jersey area, including everything from Saturday live music nights to local art exhibits, as well as plentiful seating, in a downtown haven known as a gateway to the who’s-who of Princeton locals.
Co-founders Brant Cosaboom and Jessica Durrie operate two retail café locations and the Small World Roasters in nearby Rocky Hill, opening the latter with partner and head roaster Jon March in 1997. Now honoring these three decades in business, Small World Coffee marks that December date with a host of locally based events and collaborations.
Durrie sent the following in a quote: “To celebrate this milestone, founders Jessica Durrie and Brant Cosaboom wanted to focus on the relationships that have been cultivated over the past 30 years. To help tell this story, they asked a handful of other businesses and organization[s] in town to participate in the 30th celebration. These relationships have been instrumental in cultivating a supportive environment, allowing us all to grow and thrive through good times and hard times. Being in business for this long requires strong relationships, and we are thankful for this community.”
“Small World Coffee lives the phrase ‘building community from the inside out.’ Our team of ‘wordlings’ [has] been an essential element of our success,” she added, referring to the employee nickname. “With a significant number of people on our team working with us for at least a decade or longer, there is a healthy [dose] of institutional knowledge behind the counter, which is what makes Small World feel the way it does. So many people comment on the great vibe in our store. This vibe is created by our amazing team of accomplished, kind, and hard-working baristas. To build community, we must first create it behind the counter with one another so that we can authentically create community with our loyal and first-time customers.”
“The word ‘belonging’ is central to our mission, essential to how we operate our cafés, and integral to our 30th anniversary,” Durrie said in a press release earlier this month. “After reading Nicholas Kristof’s column linking to the Surgeon General’s report about the epidemic of loneliness, I was inspired to weave the themes of togetherness, connection, and community into Small World’s 30th anniversary celebration.”
Durrie is referring a September 6 New York Times column in which Dr. Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general of the United States, described the negative effects of loneliness on both physical and mental health.
“Loneliness crushes the soul, but researchers are finding it does far more damage than that. It is linked to strokes, heart disease, dementia, inflammation and suicide; it breaks the heart literally as well as figuratively,” Kristof wrote in “We Know the Cure for Loneliness. So Why Do We Suffer?”
“Loneliness is as deadly as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and more lethal than consuming six alcoholic drinks a day, according to the surgeon general of the United States, Dr. Vivek Murthy. Loneliness is more dangerous for health than obesity, he says — and, alas, we have been growing more lonely.”
The desire to build community connection and fight loneliness contributed to one of the most visible public markers of Small World’s 30th anniversary celebration. In planning for the milestone, Small World’s kitchen manager, Kahlou Brown, suggested engaging the community through the well-loved Spring Street mural space. “This idea resonated deeply,” a Small World statement noted. “After all, the Arts Council of Princeton and its founder, Anne Reeves, had been among the first to welcome SWC to the Princeton community 30 years ago!”
Because of this, Small World decided to sponsor the Arts Council of Princeton for another iteration of the Spring Street mural, this time by artist Jacqui Alexander, a former barista and the company’s current social media manager, to reinforce “the importance of friendship, belonging, and community” for the town, hoping that it will motivate “Princeton to cultivate connection as a way to counteract loneliness and isolation.”
“This mural stands as a vibrant portrayal of the delightful experiences that await us in Princeton as we come together with our friends and family. It reminds us that our community is here, around us, ready to be embraced and built upon,” SWC said in a statement. “We know that as social beings, the sense of connection is indispensable for our mental and physical well-being. In an era overcast with loneliness, we hope this mural inspires you to dive in. Reach out, include others, make new friends, keep an open heart, and acknowledge the inherent human need for belonging. Your community is right here, lean into it and watch it grow.”
But Small World Coffee brews an appeal that is both respected and easily accessible to everyone, whether local residents, those affiliated with Princeton University, or tourists.
According to the SWC website, smallworldcoffee.com, Cosaboom and Durrie met as recent college graduates working as baristas for the now-defunct Espresso Royale in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As the two discovered their shared experiences as young expats whose global upbringings were the result of their fathers’ careers at General Motors, they also found in each other a partner to help fulfill that same slow-roasting desire to open their own café.
The pair then set out on a cross-country search for a college town that could encompass both the uniqueness and unity they had envisioned from their international childhoods.
When “visiting Cosaboom’s parents in Princeton in fall 1992,” as Fran McManus wrote in an October 20 Edible Jersey article, “they found the mix of walkability, diversity, and retail-residential mix that they had been seeking.”
Both cafés offer an extensive menu of classic coffeehouse favorites, as well as teas, hot chocolates, steamers, and other drinks available both hot or cold. Pastries, breads, cakes, cookies, and desserts, as well as lighter fare like granola, round out the SWC lineup.
For more unique finds, taste SWC’s signature “Tough Chai,” a blend overloaded with spices, and even the “Lion’s Mane Chai,” which uses edible fungi, according to the menu, in a brain-boosting “super tonic that supports memory, focus, and clarity.”
Try the current seasonal lineup that includes the “Chaider,” a drink equal parts “Tough Chai” and cider from Princeton’s Terhune Orchards; a lavender fog; an Earl Grey latte with house-made lavender syrup; pumpkin cream cold brew; golden milk; ginger tonic; and more.
The second café at 254 Nassau Street also serves breakfast and lunch from the grill, but trades the Witherspoon’s larger interior for an impressive outdoor area, sharing an enclosed patio with the neighboring Nassau Street Seafood & Produce Co. and Blue Point Grill.
The spot opened in 2006 and sits at the northern end of Princeton between Nassau Seafood and Tiger Noodles. What the site lacks in Wi-Fi connectivity or roominess, it more than makes up for as the perfect place to unplug and people-watch.
The dedicated Small World kitchen is known for its fresh, made-to-order breakfast sandwiches, as well as providing signature baked goods and small-batch staples for both SWC locations.
Small World Coffee curates works by community-based visual artists with monthly shows. Currently, contemporary paintings by self-taught contemporary artist Meghan Tatuskar are up at the Witherspoon location, which lead into December’s display of acrylic paintings by Meredith Remz, a Princeton-based collage artist and sculptor.
Art prints and digital illustrations by Brett Martin, a former barista at SWC now living in Jacksonville, Florida, are ongoing at Nassau through January. For more information, see smallworldcoffee.com/art-shows.
During the anniversary celebrations, customers can purchase anniversary merchandise, such as a commemorative tin featuring the original house blend recipe that debuted in 1993, at both the Nassau and Witherspoon locations.
On December 1, kick off the month-long celebration with the “Better Together Stroll” and make your way around town to participating merchants, including the Bent Spoon, Whole Earth Center, Princeton Record Exchange, and more.
Grab a punch card from SWC and look for one of their iconic red cups hidden at each stop, get a stamp from an employee, and move along to the next spot.
The first 30 people to return their completed cards will receive a goody bag filled with treats from SWC and other local vendors, but all stamped cards must be returned to the Witherspoon site by December 21 to be entered into a drawing at the following day’s anniversary celebration, where SWC will announce the winner of a free Moccamaster KBG coffee maker.
Partnering community vendors are also offering specials in honor of the anniversary:
The Bent Spoon: NOLA ice cream using Small World Coffee NOLA extract (cold brew Crispy Hippie & Chicory);
Jammin’ Crepes: The “Toasty Joe” Crepe will be offered in the month of December at both their 20 Nassau and Library Cafe;
Jazams: The three people to guess the closest number of beans in a coffee bean display will receive a free drink card and cookie;
Labyrinth: A special display will show books about coffee, and the first 30 transactions on December 22 will receive a free drink card;
Lillipies: Small World Coffee in the Lillipie of the month;
Lucy’s: The first 30 people to buy a bag of coffee in December will receive a free drink card;
Princeton Record Exchange: Playing 90’s music from 3 to 4 p.m. on December 22 and giving out free drink cards to the first 30 transactions;
Whole Earth Center: Crispy Hippie coffee was developed especially for the WEC. People can enter their names into a drawing at WEC and win both a bag of Crispy Hippie and a retro Crispy Hippie t-shirt;
Mistral: Small World Coffee Espresso Martini the week of the anniversary;
McCarter Theater: Small World Coffee creates drinks to promote a Christmas Carol: Tiny Tim (hot peppermint & vanilla milk with whipped cream and candy cane crush), and Scrooge (a Tiny Tim with a shot of espresso).
Additionally, attendees of a Sunday, December 10, event at Princeton Public Library, where Jennifer Carson, owner of LiLLiPiES Bakery, will discuss her new books, “The LiLLiPiES Cookbook” and “Pie For My Birthday,” and give a baking demonstration with samples to taste, will enjoy free coffee from 3 to 5 p.m.
The following Tuesday, December 12, the first 30 participants of the PPL “Jolabokaflod” event, an Icelandic tradition that translates to the “Yule Book Flood,” will receive free drink cards from SWC. The practice, according to PPL materials, “originated during World War II when foreign imports were restricted, but paper was cheap. Iceland could not support a year-round publishing industry, so book publishers flooded the market with new titles in the final weeks of the year and thus the tradition of exchanging books as gifts in December was born.”
Library staff will host a book discussion to share their recent favorites, most anticipated releases, and any book recommendations from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Guests can warm up together with conversation, hot cocoa, and cookies, as well as have the opportunity to take home gently used books and advanced readers’ copies.
Original baristas Marc Goldberg and Max Shane, also formerly of Espresso Royale, will return for a special guest appearance behind the counter at the Witherspoon location on December 22 from 3 to 4 p.m.
Small World will observe its anniversary with “slices of celebratory cake” from the Princeton bakery and deli Olives, as well as name the winners in the official drawing for the “Better Together Stroll” contest.
Throughout the month of December, Small World is hosting a contest that invites customers to share their favorite memories of SWC on Instagram. SWC will post snippets of selected entries on its official social media channels, and all participants are automatically entered into a random drawing to win a special 30th anniversary tin of SWC beans.
SWC plans to choose three winners at random, either on or after December 23, with all recipients notified by email and required to include a valid U.S. shipping address. To join, visit the website at smallworldcoffee.com/anniversary-giveaway.
For more information, visit the SWC website at smallworldcoffee.com.
Witherspoon Café: 14 Witherspoon Street, Princeton. Hours: Mondays to Thursdays, 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Fridays to Saturday, 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Sundays, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Phone: 609-924-4377 x2.
Nassau Café: 254 Nassau Street, Princeton. Hours: Mondays to Saturdays, 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Grill open on weekends until 2 p.m. Phone: 609-924-4377 x3.
Small World Coffee marks 30 years serving up coffee and community in downtown Princeton.,
Small World Coffee at Witherspoon during pandemic. (Credit to Gerardo Puglia),
