NAMASTE CAFE IS OPEN!!!

[John Leary]

The following is a reprint of an article from this month's Food for Thought newsletter:

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Namasté Awakening

Walk into the Co-op to do your usual shopping, and you may be struck by an unusual sight:  The stairway to your left looks different.  Way different!  Suddenly there’s words on the steps, words which beckon you to ascend (metaphysically as well as physically) and try something brave and new.  Follow those words, and those steps, and you’ll find yourself in the Co-op’s newest offering – an organic oasis called Namasté Café.

The brainchild of Co-op member Drew Patch, Namasté represents the fruit of years of planning and investment.  Drew has literally been working day and night to make his dream come true, and his dream is a simple one: to bring you the healthiest juice that can be made.

But Namasté has much more than juice.  There’s smoothies of course, and coffee, and tea.  But there’s also some of the most delicious and innovative salads you can find in the city.  There’s fresh wraps, made for you on the spot by Drew and his staff.  And there’s baked desserts, so luscious and rich that you may find yourself lingering at the Café long after you’d originally intended to.

That’s okay; Namasté is a great place to linger, filled with good and friendly people.  And with Drew slowly ramping up a rotation of live musical and poetic performers and film showings, the Café scene will only be getting more lively and interesting.

I lingered with Drew to ask him some questions about himself, his life with juice, and his aspirations for the Café.

Q: Tell me about your health seeker background.

I’ve always felt that at minimum it’s really important to treat Mother Earth well.  So years ago I tried to become more humane towards animals, living in a more sustainable way.  During the early ‘80s I was vegetarian on and off, but couldn’t seem to stick to a vegetarian regime for any length of time.  To me, “vegetables” were French fries!

In 1987, my father died suddenly of a heart attack.  He had seemed very healthy – no body fat, very vital, and a low stress lifestyle – but he ate a fatty Polish-American diet.  Realizing my grandparents had had similar diets and died similarly, I became vegetarian.  By 1989 I had become vegan, and I’ve been vegan ever since.

I used to struggle with obesity.  When I moved to New Brunswick in 1986, I was just under 230 pounds.  Now I weigh 160, and I maintain this through both nutrition and exercise.  I run an average of 20 miles every week.

Q: What got you into juicing?

I lived in Colorado from 1990 to 1994 and became a customer at two of Boulder’s landmark health food stores, Alfalfas and Crystal Market.  That’s when I started drinking fresh juice.

In 1995 I moved to New York and started working at Grass Roots, a beautiful health food store in SoHo.  That’s where I really learned how to make juice.  Grass Roots was a destination for not only health seekers but celebrities!  I met Beck, Willem Dafoe, Bette Midler, Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth, Mike D. from the Beastie Boys.  Many of these stars wanted anonymity, so as manager I instructed employees not to out the celebrity customers.  This kept them comfortable and so they kept coming back.

Q: How did you start to follow Gary Null?

At Grass Roots I listened to WBAI Pacifica Radio and discovered him there.  The first time hearing him was amazing!  Most juice people are gentle and accommodating, but the great thing about Gary is he doesn’t compromise his beliefs.  While mainstream corporations sweep unfavorable information under the rug, Gary will dare them to publicly discuss the science.

I’ve gotten the privilege of juicing for him.  When I was working at Wild Oats in Princeton, Gary came to town to give a lecture.  One of Gary’s friends was a customer, heard me talking about Gary, and offered to introduce us.  Sure enough, after Gary’s lecture I got to speak one-on-one with him for like fifteen minutes.

Q: What inspired you to build Namasté here?

While I was working at Wild Oats I investigated opening a juice bar at several Princeton locations, but in every case it turned out not to be viable.  Princeton is an expensive place to do business!

During this time, Bill [Zietlow, then Co-op General Manager] suggested opening a juice bar at the Co-op.  At first I didn’t think it could work, but by 2004 things had changed and I found myself in Bill’s office asking “how can we make this work?”

Q: Tell us what’s special about Namasté Café.

It fills a void that’s long-overdue to be filled.  Our food is clean.  We don’t use preservatives, hydrogenated oils, canola oil, or GMOs.  Our juices are 100% organic, and I know the tricks of the trade to making great juice.  We got a chef to design our salad selection, and we have a constantly evolving selection of fresh foods.  And we’re bringing in Vegan Treats baked goods, a brand that’s been written about in Rolling Stone, Vegetarian Times, and The New Yorker.

For cultural enlightenment we’re going to be showing DVDs of indie films, concert performances, and enlightening documentaries.  We’re going to be hosting live acoustic music, spoken word poetry, and drum circles.  We’ll be doing educational demos on raw foods, juicing, Ayurvedic medicine, aromatherapy, herbology, and holistic practices in general.

Q: Where do you see the Café going in the future?

Rutgers is a big school with a sizable athletic department.  Once we get our daily routine down at Namasté, I hope to reach out to Rutgers athletes and help them gain a nutritional edge.  For Rutgers students, baby boomers, the Co-op family, and everybody else, people are trying to heal and to grow, and I feel we’re just here to give them the resources to help them on their journey.

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[Madzi]

Nice article!
My interest was piqued by the comment about reaching out to Rutgers athlete's regarding nutrition...and am wondering how this could be done. In my experience, publicity is EVERYTHING and it takes a well thought out and deliberate campaign to bring information to those who need it.
So...the question is...what needs to be done to accomplish that?

[John Leary]

I'm not positive what plans Drew and David (his partner) have for promotion, and I don't think they're on this messageboard [yet?]. Totally agreed that an effective promotion campaign takes focus and planning! Do you enjoy getting involved with this type of stuff?

[ellenr]

Madzi,
you took the word right out of my mouth! As I was reading the article, I was thinking, "Publicity".
I have seen some very good ventures fall by the wayside for lack of publicity.

Sometimes people think, "give 'em a good product, and they will come."
Nice if it were so, but in these days there in so much grabbing peoples' attention, that, as Madzi said, "Publicity is everything".

I hope that Drew and his group will read this, cuz the enterprise is unlikely to sustain itself for long without a lot of promotion.

ellen

[Madzi]

I've been involved with publicity both at my workplace as well as my church, as a volunteer. I learned early that success at any endeavor is directly proportional to publicity.
You can have the best product in the world but if no one knows about it, your chances are really diminished.

[John Leary]

Madzi, I'd love to talk with you sometime about your experiences with publicity. I have my own experience with it (promoting various bands I've been in) but it's always good to trade perspectives.

Next time you're going to be in the Co-op for a minute, drop a line. I'll try to come down.

[ellenr]

Madzi,
I agree. When I was in Houston a Women's group I was in brought, at different times, Sonia Johnson, and the late great poet June Jordan to speak. We went all out with publicity and we filled the place to over-flowing.
Another time, a group brought Mary Daly, an equally or better-known radical feminist, to town, did not do publicity, and the place was more than half empty.

That was a lesson. I think one really has to work at it, and it will bring results.

ellen

[DianaM]

Hello! I'm currently a Rutgers student, and what drew me to the co-op is both health and lifestyle reasons. (I'll be joining as a member in the Fall.) Although dining hall food at Rutgers could be worse, and they do offer a good veggie selection, any kind of food made in such mass quantities worries me. The "freshman 15" was the bane of my existence, and I know I'm certainly not alone.

I recently checked out the cafe for the first time, and I noticed that the food was both incredibly good, but also well-priced. It's such a great alternative to all the fast-food places RU students currently go to in New Brunswick... I think that with publicity, it wouldn't be too difficult to reach the RU population... the food and drinks at the cafe speak for themselves. I'd love to get involved in reaching RU... let me know when the cafe has plans to start advertising and spreading the word!
- Diana

[ellenr]

Hi Diana,
It's great to welcome you to the Co-op.
If you are interested in working on publicity - and being at Rutgers you could be an invaluable asset - I suggest you speak directly to Drew, the owner/manager of the Cafe, who is almost always there.

I'm not sure if he reads these messages.

Look forward to meeting you,
ellen

[John Leary]

Hi Diana. Drew doesn't read this messageboard, so you'd definitely have to talk with him in person.

You may have known this, but the Co-op has an Outreach Committee, and there's lots of ways we could coordinate our activities with yours. If you're interested, just let me know as I chair that committee. You can private message me here (using the "PM" button right below this posting) or call me at 973-452-6341.

It's great that you're so excited and committed. I agree 100%, Namaste's food is excellent, I get it whenever I can!