An Australian-inspired wellness health brand called Wattle Café opened their first New Jersey location in Jersey City earlier this week after serving Manhattan over half a decade.
Located at 351 Marin Boulevard in Jersey City’s Powerhouse Arts District, Wattle Café was founded in 2017 by Australian Ana Ivkosic. A former international banker turned health coach, her mission with Wattle Café was to take American classics and put a healthy spin on them.
The café’s menu, which can be tailored to meet preferences ranging from keto to vegan and coffee, is a big point of emphasis at Wattle Café. The restaurant offers coffee beans sourced directly from the farmer that grew them and is roasted by a New York-based Australian roaster in an organic facility.
Wattle Café’s Jersey City location follows in the footsteps of their outposts in Murray Hill and Manhattan’s Financial District. Ivkosic says that opening in Jersey City made sense, as a sizable portion of their customer base consists of young families and millennials who are mindful about what they are eating.
“At the onset of COVID, we saw a number of these customers from our New York City locations migrate to Jersey City,” says Ivkosic. “After conducting research, we found Downtown Jersey City had a similar demographic base and identified this market as a terrific opportunity for expansion.”
Wattle Café occupies 1,000 square feet of ground floor space inside the recently completed 351 Marin development, a 38-story property developed by Kushner Real Estate Group and Northwestern Mutual. Besides the indoor dining, the eatery is connected to an outdoor public plaza that includes seating areas.
Wattle Café also ships some of their products nationwide through their website and can be followed on Instagram at the handle @wattlecafenyc. Their Jersey City outpost is currently open daily from 8a.m. to 4 p.m.
