BUSINESS: Massimo’s Cafe, on Nassau St., moves to expand

By Geoffrey Wertime, Staff Writer
  PRINCETON —  Massimo’s Café is sliding three doors down and expanding, bumping up its space by nearly half.
   The move began over the weekend, when owner Sal Mazzella and fifteen friends were set to start moving the fixtures and setting up the new space. Mr. Mazzella said he decided to move because he needed more seating.
   ”There are patrons that want to eat at my store but can’t because there’s no room, so they have to go somewhere else,” he said.
   The new Massimo’s will move from 124 Nassau St. to 110 Nassau St., the space formerly occupied by “Life is Good” brand clothing purveyor Jake’s on Nassau. The café’s area will jump from the current 900 square feet to about 1,300, which he said will be almost entirely dedicated to seating.
   ”Right now I can seat 12 people, and I’m hoping to seat another 15,” he said. “I’d lose anywhere from 40 to 60 people every day because I don’t have enough seating.”
   The pedestrian and college nature of the town makes ample seating all the more important, Mr. Mazzella said. Students and families tend to come in groups that restaurants may need to accommodate simultaneously. This is particularly problematic for the students, who he said tend to come together in large numbers.
   The move is expected to take between 10 and 12 days, and in the meantime workers at the Princeton Massimo’s will be spread out over the restaurant’s other two locations in Robbinsville and Hamilton.
   Mr. Mazzella said the expansion will also let him add jobs to accommodate the increase in customers, though he said he didn’t yet have an exact number and plans to “play it by ear.”
   While most of the fixtures in the current store will move down the street, the high-level seating will be replaced with lower-lying chairs and tables. The five flat-screen TVs will be spread around the larger space and set to different channels.
   While he acknowledged the new rent will be a bit higher, Mr. Mazzella said the move will not raise prices for his customers.
   ”It’s tough times for everybody, and I don’t want to gouge anybody,” he said.
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