A café that began in New York City a decade ago has expanded and thrived in the face of challenges as the newest location of Gotan is branching out to dinner service in Hoboken.
The story of Gotan started in 2014 inside a historic building in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. Owner Rami Rosen launched the business on the ground floor of a supermarket warehouse property that dates to the 1800s and quickly took the New York scene by storm.
The café, with a name inspired by the 2000s-era music group Gotan Project, quickly added three other New York City outposts before the reality of COVID-19 struck. Rosen was forced to pull back to keep the flagship café going, but the N.J. native decided to shift his focus across the Hudson River.
Gotan opened a small express version in Jersey City and another location in Weehawken along Palisade Avenue after the pandemic subsided. Their latest Hoboken flagship location launched just about two months ago inside 7 Seventy House, a property Rosen absolutely loves.
“I have to rave about the ownership that helped us to get this project done and believed in Gotan and me,” Rosen tells Jersey Digs. “This project took over a year to build and was not easy for me or them, but we made it happen.”
The Hoboken location is by far the largest effort Gotan has undertaken, spanning over 5,000 square feet through two floors. The 34-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows give off the vibe of a chic industrial loft despite being situated in a modern development.
The soaring nature of the space allows Gotan to have two distinct areas within their café. The 4,000 square feet on the ground floor play hosts to the main coffee bar and kitchen complete with exposed blocks and concrete columns, while an elevated lounge up a second-floor staircase boasts 1,000 square feet of sofas and chairs for a quieter, cozy environment.
Rosen was already familiar with the emerging Hoboken neighborhood since opening Yuki’s Bakery in 2021. That business, across a pedestrian plaza from Gotan, gave Rosen a chance to see just how many people now live in the area and what void could be filled.
“Hoboken does not have anything like Gotan – a large inviting space where you can have healthy food, good quality coffee and enough space to work,” says Rosen.
In terms of the menu, Gotan combines healthy, made to order food with premium Counterculture coffee and drinks. Their signature dishes include a tuna avocado salad, a halloumi and roasted pepper sandwich, or a mediterranean chicken sandwich with tahini and their unique blend of fixings.
In addition to an all-day breakfast menu, Gotan Hoboken now offers dinner service as well. Highlights include a chicken schnitzel dish, Middle Eastern kebabs, roasted salmon, and a mujaddera platter of skewered vegetables.
Their mezze plate is a feast by itself and large enough to serve a family, offering a selection of six salads and dips like hummus, eggplant salad, babaganush, and more served on one tray.
Despite being a relative newcomer to Hoboken, Gotan has taken big steps to incorporate the community. The café features artwork from two local Hoboken artists throughout the space and will have a rotation of artists on display every two months.
Gotan and Yuki’s Bakery also donate baked goods to local homeless shelters and have begun hosting meetings in their Hoboken lounge along with sponsoring a PTA event at a school near their Weehawken location. It’s one of the many reasons why the expanding brand has been such a hit.
“We got slammed on the first two days of the opening – in a good way,” says Rosen. He notes that over 300 people came in every day over the course of the opening weekend, giving them a good trial by fire to streamline their operations.
Gotan Hoboken is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. New dinner service starts at 5:30 p.m. and wraps at 9 p.m. They are located at 770 Jackson Street at the road’s intersection with 8th Street.
