Cup of coffee with ‘Cream’

Café offers rock, rhythm and brews

By Sean Ruppert, Staff Writer
   The walls are covered in gold records, hung above the over-stuffed couches that line the walls.
   Giant posters honoring past rock legends like the Grateful Dead and the Ramones are mixed among the décor, and a couple of guitars placed around the room. Those who walk in for the first time might imagine that they are in the living room of some famous Los Angeles record producer, displaying all the evidence of his success.
   This is not a scene reserved for the music industry elite though, but one that is open to all of the community. It’s Kendall Park’s newest café, Rockn’ Joe Coffeehouse and Bistro, which offers customers a taste of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia along with coffee and food.
   The coffeehouse opened its doors for the first time on Oct. 20 in the Town Place shopping center on Route 27. It is the latest in a chain that now features four restaurants spread throughout New Jersey. The chain’s founder, Kevin Brennan, said he came up with the concept after visiting coffeehouses in California in the late 1980s.
   ”I had been looking to start a business for a while, but I didn’t have any ideas and I didn’t have any money,” Mr. Brennan said. “I was out in California around ‘89, right about when the West Coast coffeehouse idea was just getting started. I thought it was a great idea and I didn’t know why anyone wasn’t doing it on the East Coast.”
   He put the idea on the back burner for a while, but got inspired to move forward after reading an article about another coffee chain.
   ”In 1992, I read that Starbucks was going to spread from the west out to Chicago, and that eventually they were coming all the way east,” Mr. Brennan said. “I thought, ‘if I don’t do it now, it will be too late.’ “
   Mr. Brennan got a loan, and in 1993 opened up the first Rockn’ Joe café in Cranford. He said he knew before he opened his business that his coffeehouse would need a twist to stay competitive with the flood of coffeehouses that he anticipated would come.
   ”A couple of friends and I were sitting at the old Club Bene, eating cheesecake and drinking coffee. I said, ‘wouldn’t it be great if there was a place to hang out, listen to music and drink coffee,’” he said. “That’s when I thought I should throw rock ‘n’ roll in.”
   Additional shops followed in Caldwell and Westfield, before the Kendall Park shop opened last week.
   Mr. Brennan plays the guitar and describes himself as a huge music fan, saying that he has more than 40,000 songs on his iPod. He said that those who come to the Rockn’ Joe coffeehouse will hear a range of music from classic rock to contemporary artists like Snow Patrol and the Kings of Leon.
   Hanging on the walls in Kendall Park are gold records from artists ranging from Elvis Presley to Jim Hendrix to Coldplay. The café also is home to two signed guitars, one by The Alarm and the other by British band Starsailor. All of the menus are inside covers for vinyl LPs, and much of the memorabilia of the wall is for sale, along with T-shirts and other collectibles.
   The restaurant creates quite an atmosphere, but its founder also aims to give his customers a unique experience at an easily affordable price.
   ”I started realizing around 1998 or so that people were getting used to living a really lavish lifestyle, but that eventually it was going to come to an end,” Mr. Brennan said. “We want to give people the feel of a really good night out, but get them in and out for $20 or $30 or so.”
   Despite its rock ‘n’ roll theme, Mr. Brennan said that you don’t have to love music to have a good time at Rockn’ Joe.
   ”You would think there would be a lot of kids, but really the place is more for adults,” he said. “There is something for everyone. The music is not in your face, it is more in the background. This business is about the product, and the music is really the icing on the cake. For someone who doesn’t like music, there is still a lot there for you.”
   For more information on Rockn’ Joe visit the company’s Web site at www.rocknjoe.net.