Pass by this unassuming café and you’ll see folks gathered around outside enjoying much more than the café’s gourmet coffees, palate-refining lunches, and too-delicious-to-resist baked-fresh-daily pasties. What makes Positively 4th Street Café so special is that it promotes the kind of human interaction one is nostalgic for in a time of corporate big business and impersonal technology.The caf is a
gathering place, and consequently a home for those who yearn for intimate and light-hearted cheer! Owners John and Sharon Szabo have created a sensory playground for their customers (or more appropriately, their friends). From the art-filled walls, mosaic tables, colorful and beautifully plated cuisine, and the perfect playlist playing in the background, to the elixir of aromas that involuntarily lure your eyes to the kitchen, Positively 4th Street Café is a sentient being’s secret paradise.Create a special place and people will gather, and gather the community does at Positively 4th Street Café. Everybody is a regular and a friend at the café. It’s the kind of place where artists and curious folk meet and exchange witty banter. I was just talking with Tony, the playwright, musician, and illustrator who paid a visit to the café before hopping on a train to Savannah, Georgia where he makes his living as a portrait artist. And just the other day Kathy, another artist, was in search for a wooden picture frame to make a succulent garden that she’ll place strategically on the side of her shed that faces the alley behind her home. If you linger enough you’ll catch sports columnist David French sneakily feed the café’s Beta Fish, “Sushi.” And just before it’s time to close Jody will show up, tease the baristas a bit before retiring outside—soaking up the late afternoon sun long since the doors have locked until the morning. There’s Bebe, the published travel writer, she’s got the most amazing stories to tell. And her husband Birch, the musician and surfer who always has some encouraging words to be heard. Paul teaches Tai Chi and always has some good vibes to share, while his girlfriend Marie captures Southern Jersey's most special moments through canvas and watercolors. . Libbey, the plumber saved my kitchen sink from a cooking endeavor gone bad out of the kindness of his heart. John gave us a summer of fun by selling my boyfriend and I his sailboat at a price we couldn't refuse. This is the place where I met the love of my life. This is the place where I’ve met irreplaceable friends. This is the place where I’ve made unforgettable memories. It’s alive and flourishing with folks that have one very special mutual interest: gathering. The death of Positively 4th Street Café would surely be the death of an entire community.
