When the New York Times wrote this little gem up recently, I was embarrassed to say I didn’t know about R Patisserie . But that’s all over now.
It’s the kind of place you expect to stumble upon in Europe, where welcoming spaces appear in unlikely storefronts. Here, local artwork hangs on beautiful wallpaper with chandeliers above and rescued furnishings below.
Owner John Reverol, a graphic designer and art dealer moved into a loft bldg in New Rochelle, but he said something was missing in this town. “There was no decent coffee house.” he says with a French accent. “I said, ‘what New Rochelle needs is a coffee house like the ones in the City.'” And by City, he meant New York or Paris.
And so a former balloon store was transformed, opening last April.
The signature brew here is a Brazilian blend, Delicioso, but cappucino, espresso, lattes and soon teas by the ounce are available. 90% of the pastries arrive at 5:00 am from Balthazar. Sandwiches include the “R”: cracked-pepper turkey and Swiss on a baguette, with mustard, mayonnaise and thinly sliced green apple.
“It’s a place people to want to stay, not just for coffee. I seem to have hired good, engaging young local people. I want you to feel you’re not in a coffee shop, but in someones living room.” In the Spring, he says, looking across the street to the historic Trinity church surrounded by lush foliage, “it does feel like home.”
To that end, John struggled to find the perfect wallpaper, something that would capture “modern France, not too stuffy or old-fashioned.” Here’s an ironic tribute: after a month of searching European designer stores, he found it in the Benjamin Moore store near the New Rochelle Stop and Shop.
R Patisserie, Cafe and Tea Boutique, 302 Huguenot Street, New Rochelle; (914) 358-1841, rpatisserie.com.
