Construction is underway at 936 Washington Street in the Mile Square City, and a fresh dining experience will be coming soon courtesy of the owner behind one of Hoboken’s best coffee shops.
Formerly home to Istana Sushi & Wok, the storefront is currently being revamped into a restaurant concept called Seven Valleys. The name comes from a book of the same title that was written in the 1860s by a man named Bahá’u’lláh. He later founded the Bahá’í Faith, which survives to this day and teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity and equality of all people.
The culinary version of Seven Valleys is being built by Maryanne Fike, who has owned bwè kafe in Hoboken since 2013. Later expanding to Newport in Jersey City, the coffee shop donates a portion of their proceeds to Coffee for Water, which provides water filtration services in Haiti that supply residents with access to safe drinking water.
Maryanne also co-founded Love for Haiti / the Ark Project, a 501(c)(3) organization that helps fund higher education aspirations and assists with teacher training in Haiti, among other initiatives. While bwè kafe is a known entity, little is known about Seven Valleys other than a tagline they’ve shared that simply states, “Serving Persian cuisine…serving humanity.”
Hoboken’s Historical Commission signed off on changes that Fike was looking to make with the storefront’s exterior at their June 4 meeting, which includes removing existing paint and adding a new sign. Mostly interior work appears to have been performed at the property so far, and any official opening looks like it might be a way off. However, Persian restaurants are non-existent in Hoboken (and pretty hard to find in Hudson County, too), so Seven Valleys should fill a nice void.
