It had a great location. The gelato was tasty. Atmosphere? Cheery, with a faux fireplace in a cozy back alcove that was ideal for first dates. There even was a working train set on the ceiling.
CAFE CLOSED: So long, Cafe on the Green. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
The Cafe on the Green is dark. No word yet on what will replace it. Previously, the space was a Godiva chocolate shop. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Here are a few fond memories, from some happy Sunday evenings spent sketching therewith an artists’ group…
Artists sketch at Morristown’s Cafe on the Green every Sunday at 6 pm. Photo by Danielle Merzatta.
…and from the grand opening…
GRAND OPENING: Morristown’s Cafe on the Green opens in April 2012. From left: Owners John and Vita McGloin with daughter Mila Ann, 4 1/2 months; First Lady Mary Dougherty; Pastry Chef Amanda Beun, and Chef Chris Nguyen. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
… here’s the train set…
ALL ABOARD! Lionel train chugs around ceiling of Cafe on the Green. The late father of owner John McGloin was a model train buff. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
…and last but not least, here is a scene from Apple of My Eye, an Andy Keyes entry in the 2012 MorristownGreen.com Film Festival. It’s about a first date. The climactic scenes were shot inside Café on the Green. The gelato has an important supporting role. (See the video above.)
Kristie Garrell in scene from ‘Apple of My Eye,’ a short comedy in the 2012 MorristownGreen.com Film Fest. Part of the movie was filmed at Cafe on the Green. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Cafe on the Green was my go-to place! Whenever someone suggested “Let’s meet at Starbucks” I immediately said “No, let’s go 50′ down the block and meet @ COTG.” Consistently friendly staff, great atmosphere, coffee and food. I wish people experimented more, they would have discovered a Morristown gem…
I really enjoyed this lovely cafe. BYOB, charm, guitar music, conversation with those around you. Wish it were in our town. Would have been there every other day. We are really sorry to see it go. All the best to those who brought us such fond memories!
I wonder what the rent was. Too many landlords are getting spoiled by the high rents paid by these banks. I should think smaller businesses like this should get a discount to allow lower prices and make it feasible. The Greenfields Café was also nice, and I worry that the current one there is also struggling. Maybe we need to institute a special contribution by the big banks to help keep smaller mom and pop businesses. Someone once suggested installing security grills inside and letting the bank lobbies be sublet for use in evenings as cafe’s etc. If anyone knows what rent was being charged, please post it. I hope the owners comment here.
Sad to see the cafe go, but after giving it several tries, it never gelled for me as a must-go destination. While the gelato was good, the rest of the menu wasn’t focused enough to create a sense of place. Was it a coffee place, a lunch place, or a desert place? A little of all? We were never sure. So when we would plan to go out, other options always made more sense.
While it’s easy to blame Starbucks, I don’t think it makes sense. People go to Starbucks because it does a good job of being solid and predictable — you know what you get when you go there. But SmartWorld succeeds alongside it because it also does a great job of giving you a focused menu and a solid consistent personality. Cafe of the Green just wasn’t as strong.
Too expensive for nothing special food
idk, maybe you just have to serve a better cup of coffee than Starbucks, which Smart World Coffee consistently does. Perhaps everyone else is being trained like sheep and herding over to Starbucks, meanwhile I’m waiting for my cuppa java in line with the other independent farm animals over at Smart World! And I’ll miss the very independently spirited Cafe, their excellent menu and spirited service.
I think that Starbucks kills all the locally owned coffee shops in town. We are trained to like “name brand” and thus feed into the corporate over-taking of our small towns.
Cafe on the Green was my go-to place! Whenever someone suggested “Let’s meet at Starbucks” I immediately said “No, let’s go 50′ down the block and meet @ COTG.” Consistently friendly staff, great atmosphere, coffee and food. I wish people experimented more, they would have discovered a Morristown gem…
I really enjoyed this lovely cafe. BYOB, charm, guitar music, conversation with those around you. Wish it were in our town. Would have been there every other day. We are really sorry to see it go. All the best to those who brought us such fond memories!
I wonder what the rent was. Too many landlords are getting spoiled by the high rents paid by these banks. I should think smaller businesses like this should get a discount to allow lower prices and make it feasible. The Greenfields Café was also nice, and I worry that the current one there is also struggling. Maybe we need to institute a special contribution by the big banks to help keep smaller mom and pop businesses. Someone once suggested installing security grills inside and letting the bank lobbies be sublet for use in evenings as cafe’s etc. If anyone knows what rent was being charged, please post it. I hope the owners comment here.
Sad to see the cafe go, but after giving it several tries, it never gelled for me as a must-go destination. While the gelato was good, the rest of the menu wasn’t focused enough to create a sense of place. Was it a coffee place, a lunch place, or a desert place? A little of all? We were never sure. So when we would plan to go out, other options always made more sense.
While it’s easy to blame Starbucks, I don’t think it makes sense. People go to Starbucks because it does a good job of being solid and predictable — you know what you get when you go there. But SmartWorld succeeds alongside it because it also does a great job of giving you a focused menu and a solid consistent personality. Cafe of the Green just wasn’t as strong.
Too expensive for nothing special food
idk, maybe you just have to serve a better cup of coffee than Starbucks, which Smart World Coffee consistently does. Perhaps everyone else is being trained like sheep and herding over to Starbucks, meanwhile I’m waiting for my cuppa java in line with the other independent farm animals over at Smart World! And I’ll miss the very independently spirited Cafe, their excellent menu and spirited service.
I think that Starbucks kills all the locally owned coffee shops in town. We are trained to like “name brand” and thus feed into the corporate over-taking of our small towns.