Copyright keenesentinel
Beneath a bright-red awning, a new café is dawning in Keene. Fresh Day Cafe, a European-themed coffee shop at 23 Ralston St., will open its doors for the first time on Wednesday, owner Brian Green told The Sentinel. The eatery will be serving up a variety of coffee and central-European baked goods prepared by Brian’s wife, Jana, a native Slovakian. They enter a Keene market already occupied by several cafés, but Fresh Day’s owners plan to set themselves apart. “We definitely want to be different,” Brian said. “We want to be the Euro café.” The couple’s idea of a Euro cafe is casual and laid back, Brian said. “We just want to have something for everyone.” The Keene couple have been eyeing the restaurant business for a while. Brian is a retired sociology professor from Keene State who took a buyout when the college was restructuring a few years ago. Jana is also a former academic, who has been a homemaker for the past couple of years. Now, they are looking for a fresh start in the food biz. They searched for a ready-made restaurant location in Keene, but had trouble finding a spot, Brian said. Then, they came across the Ralston Street location, which was once a print shop, and was recently owned by Keene Student Rentals before it was purchased by the owner of neighboring More Than a Thrift Store, Brian said. “I loved the vibe about the place,” he said. “It’s got this funky layout with the upstairs and downstairs.” In close proximity to several apartment complexes and Keene State itself, the Greens are hoping to cater to the Elm City’s student population, Brian said. The inspiration for a café arose from the former professor’s travels in Slovakia, where he was a frequent patron of “sweet shops,” the European equivalent of cafés, he said. In his opinion, they offer baked goods of a quality rarely found in the U.S. “I always say, ‘If you could offer this in the United States, you’d be a millionaire,’ “ he said. The café, which is made up of two levels, is looking to emulate its European counterparts in more than just taste. Downstairs, an assembly of tables and chairs sits among Renoir and Monet prints to accentuate the European theme. There is also a refrigerated display case that will hold cold pastries, Brian said. There is more seating upstairs, as well as the register and open kitchen, where Jana and another staff member will prepare food and drink. The prep area is complete with several coffee machines, including a Rancilio espresso machine, which is a commercial-grade appliance made in Italy. On Tuesday morning, a regiment of syrups and sparkling waters stood at attention on one table, and bread loaves cooled on the counter. The menu consists mostly of Jana’s baked goods, which are of a “central-European baking style,” Brian said. She specializes in tortes and gingerbread. Neither Brian nor Jana has any previous restaurant experience, but they run a wine and mead business called Centeur Imports, Brian said. Alcohol won’t be part of their offerings at Fresh Day. “It’s been an interesting experience,” he said. “There’s a lot to learn when you open a business like this, especially with food.” Fresh Day’s caffeinated offerings include regular coffee, cappuccino, espresso and Turkish coffee, a stronger variety of the drink served out of a copper ladle called a cezve. A café was not the couple’s first idea for a business venture, Brian said. Initially, they had planned to focus on selling baked goods and creating a “Fresh Day” brand, but opted for a smaller start first. But they might still go in that direction, if business allows, Brian said. He thinks the name “Fresh Day” — coined by Brian and Jana’s daughter — would work well if they travel down the baked-goods-biz route. “It sounds good when you’re making fresh food,” he said. The couple is also importing some European products, like PiJUR grape juice, which Brian said is of a higher quality than name-brand juices here in the United States. The Greens began renting the property at 23 Ralston St. in May, but ran into some difficulties getting the place up to city code, Brian said. Meeting those standards — like installing individual sinks for food prep, handwashing and dishwashing — took more time and money than they planned for. Though the sun is just coming up on Fresh Day, Brian has big plans for the future. He and Jana are setting up an online ordering system, will have a retail section for bottles of vinegar and oil and may even move their food planning to a cellar space there if business picks up and they need more seats. But for the time being, the couple is focused on finding their rhythm, Brian said. “We just want to see where this goes for a years or so,” he said. “If we can make this work, who knows?”
