Working From a Coffee Shop: Mara’s Cafe and Bakery in Denville

November 8, 2019 newjerseyisntboring

On a rainy day I found myself at Mara’s Bakery and Cafe where I was immediately feeling sunny.

Founded in 1984 by Mara and Glenn Magley to sell homemade desserts and coffee products in the wholesale market, the original Mara’s Café & Bakery opened in 2004, when their sons joined the business.

In 2018 the popular cafe unexpectedly closed and was looking for a new buyer, leaving residents of Denville and fans of the bakery devastated. Luckily a local fan, Allison Kohler-Thomson, saved her favorite cafe and reopened it later that year. After a year in business, Mara’s is better than ever with a new staff and bigger and brighter location.

From the moment you walk into Mara’s you get a warm welcome from their friendly staff. Then it’s up to you to choose one of the 250+ items they have in their shop. From their award winning homemade cheesecake, cupcakes, pies, cookies, scones, bagels, sandwiches, soups and more there is something for everyone at Mara’s.

While visiting you might see a famous face. NJ born and raised Dave Levey, winner of season 6 of Hells Kitchen, is Mara’s lead baker also assisting in curating the daily café menu.

Beverage #1: Mocha Latte

Beverages you’ll find at Mara’s include their hand roasted coffees, their popular cappuccino, lattes, espresso, hot cocoa, tea and blended drinks like their frappe, 20 below frozen hot chocolate, and gelatocinnos (gelato and iced coffee blended together). I ordered the Mocha Latte since it’s one of the most ordered items…and I could see why! It was delicious!

I also indulged in one of their popular cupcakes. Mara’s always has 12 different cupcakes to offer every day plus one special for the month. October’s was a cool Halloween themed cupcake, and next month will be a gingerbread/eggnog combo which sounded delicious.

I got the Mara’s signature cupcake; a chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream inside and chocolate frosting with their name on top. For October their name was in orange, it’s usually in white.

In addition to their bakery manager Joy Siragusa, a “Gelato Jedi”, creates and makes all of Mara’s gelato with flavors ranging from dulce de leche, cherry cheesecake, strawberry cookie swirl, tiramisu, and more.

I sampled white chocolate raspberry among others. You will not find better gelato in this area!

Beverage #2: Pumpkin Chai

Definitely one of the best beverages I’ve had at a coffee shop to date. It was a delicious chai and the flavor of pumpkin gave it an extra boost. I drank it until it’s very last drop.

Of course I couldn’t leave without trying their award winning cheesecake. This caramel apple cheesecake was one of the best (and most unique) cheesecakes I’ve ever had.