APRIL 14, 2010
PAGE 17
Get Your Coffee Fix at the New Blend Café Fordham Grads Jump in to Fill Fordham’s Need for a Local Coffee Shop By ABIGAIL FORGET MANAGING EDITOR
The Fordham University community has a new establishment in its midst; the Blend Café, which serves coffee and lunch, has opened on East Fordham Road. The cafe opened its doors for business on St. Patrick’s Day and features a full coffee selection, in addition to sandwiches, salads, bagels and pastries. “We felt it was something that was missing,” Suzann Fleming, cofounder of the coffee shop, said. Suzann, along with her husband and co-founder Bill Fleming, discovered property for sale next to the Shell gas station on Fordham Road approximately one year ago. The pair envisioned a place where the Fordham community could come together, enjoy a cup of coffee and socialize as an extension of campus life. The duo has an extensive history in the Bronx. Suzann and Bill both attended Fordham and Bill’s family worked in the Bronx his entire life. “We currently live in Westchester,
but we always come back to Arthur Avenue, the Botanical Gardens and the Bronx Zoo,” Suzann said. “We wanted to give back to the Fordham community.” The Flemings elaborated on their mission by explaining that they want the Fordham professors, graduate and undergraduate students and faculty members to have a type of place that they felt was lacking in the Bronx. The owners said they thought a coffee shop open morning, noon and night that was also casual and comfortable did not seem to be offered in the area. The couple reasoned that because the Blend is off campus, it can bring all members of the Fordham community together on equal ground. They would also like to see students bring their families and siblings to the Blend to get coffee during visits to Fordham. “My time in college was spent talking, talking to friends, creating relationships,” Suzann commented. “Yes, you can do that over a beer, but you can also do that over
PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/THE RAM
The Blend offers space for students to study both on couches and at high benches.
PHOTO BY STEPHEN MOCCIA/THE RAM
The Blend offers a new option for students looking for coffee, pastries and a new place to hang out and study with friends.
coffee. It is not just the coffee, but everything that surrounds it. It is social; people can exchange ideas and have discussions.” The Blend offers a large back room with leather couches, tables and a plethora of outlets for laptops, with free wi-fi for all customers. “When we were at school, we were chained to our rooms,” Suzann joked. “We didn’t have laptops, word processors and such. It is different than a decade ago. When we found the place, we thought that the wi-fi would go perfect with a coffee shop. Now with the use of laptops, students are able to be mobile and use the Blend as a place to work, write, study and collaborate with others on group projects.” Both Flemings expressed interest in utilizing the establishment for staff lunches, student group meetings and even professors’ office hours in the future, due to the
Blend’s accessibility. “To have a place in such proximity is definitely what sold us,” Bill said. The Blend also features a stage for student groups to make use of for anything they wish. The owners are looking to foster creativity with this option. “We’re going to grow together and we’re going to learn from this,” Bill said. “We can set nights for open mic, game nights, comedy nights, poetry, anything.” Despite the already aesthetically pleasing, modern set up of the back room, Suzann and Bill said they are hoping to eventually spice up the walls with amateur student photographers’ work, with a possible Bronx theme. They said they hope to get into art showings once this project takes off. Every step of the Blend’s production involved local businesses. The locksmith, equipment supplier and
contractors are all located in the Bronx. The Flemings use a coffee supplier of organic Fair Trade coffee, Cerini Coffee & Gifts, on Arthur Avenue, in addition to using Artuso’s Pastry Shop on East 187th for pastries, and Mike’s Deli on Arthur Avenue for their sandwiches and salads. The Blend also prides itself on donating all leftover food to City Harvest’s Beacon of Hope House for the deaf and the mentally challenged on Bathgate Avenue. “We’re fans of Fordham,” Bill said. “We want to be in with you guys. We’re officially open for business.” The Blend is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. It is open year-round to all members of the Fordham and Belmont communities at 582 East Fordham Rd.
Or Stop By Munchiez for a Burger and Fries Indulge Your Craving for Greasy Food at a Fordham Grad’s New Restaurant By NICO GIGIOLIO CONTRIBUTING WRITER
It’s 3 a.m., you’re starving and you hate talking on the phone more than you hate eating alone in the cafeteria. What do you do? This is no longer a dilemma now that Munchiez, Arthur Avenue’s new late-night eatery, is set to open the first week of April and is run by Fordham graduate Vlad Petric, CBA ’09. According to Petric, his new establishment will include a wide variety of uniquely put-together sandwiches that fuse traditional hoagies like a Philadelphia cheesesteak with finger foods such as chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks
and jalapéño poppers. “Munchiez has a lot to offer the Fordham community,” Petric said. “You can’t find this type of food anywhere else nearby.” In addition to Munchiez’ unique sandwiches and classic American foodstuffs, it will also be the first restaurant in the area to utilize text message ordering. Text message orders may be placed for pick-up or delivery. Petric said he thinks this will be a very useful tool for students, since text messaging is sometimes much easier than making a phone call. “I think text message ordering is a really good idea,” Stephen Hurley, FCRH ’10, said, “I can’t tell you how many times that I’ve mumbled my way to a wrong or-
der.” The hours of operation still have not been finalized, but Petric expects to open at 8 a.m. during the week, 10 a.m. on weekends and will remain open sometime between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., depending on how busy it gets. Supplying the Fordham community with a place that patrons can enjoy a meal when other restaurants are closed is Petric’s goal. He also plans to extend the hours down the road so that it is open all night for patrons. Petric’s late-night eatery is tackling a concern with which many students have issues. “I am always looking for a new place nearby to order from or eat at,” Brendan Green, CBA ’12, said.
“The fact that it is open late adds even more incentive to eat there.” Originally, Petric had planned to open Munchiez around the start of the fall ’09 semester, but hit several municipal speed bumps on the road to licensing. “At Fordham, I studied the theories behind opening up a business,” Petric said. “What I didn’t learn was how hard it is to accomplish the practical steps required to open a business. A lot of it is out of your own control. It took a month and a half just to get someone to install a commercial gas meter. It seems like there is a government agency that needs something and charges a fee every step of the way.” Vlad Petric majored in finance.
He is originally from Romania, but immigrated to the United States in 1995 and now lives in New Jersey. Petric said he has always seen himself as entrepreneurial by nature. He has experience in operating a business start-up and ran a clothing line last year called “GATS.B.” He has chosen not to pursue that business any longer, as he said he hopes to achieve greater success with Munchiez. The name “Munchiez” was trademarked by Petric earlier this year and he said he hopes to turn it into a franchise in the future. To try Petric’s food for yourself, stop by Munchiez at 2472 Arthur Ave., or call (347) 758-6535. You can also become a fan of it on Facebook.