Atlantic City Hall is getting its own coffee counter. The Great Day Café, tucked into the lobby of the municipal building at 1301 Bacharach Boulevard, is set to open Wednesday, bringing coffee and food service to City Hall.
Mayor Marty Small Sr. named the café himself, drawing on the catchphrase he has used for years to open public remarks: “It's a great day in the City of Atlantic City.” According to WPG Talk Radio 95.5 FM, city officials gathered at City Hall on September 2 for an event previewing the café ahead of its public debut, with Small telling those in attendance, “The lights are on and we mean business.”
The concession will be run by Beat the Daily Grind, an established coffee shop that already operates at 3807 Atlantic Avenue in the city's Chelsea neighborhood, according to the station's report. Kim Marshall, described as the official chef for Small and the City of Atlantic City, is behind the food program, and the mayor said he expects high demand for her cooking, per the same account. Representatives from Beat the Daily Grind were among those on hand for the September 2 preview event.
City Officials Turn Out for the Preview
The event drew city officials alongside the mayor. Department of Health & Human Services Director Jarrod Barnes and representatives of the concession operator were among those on hand, the station's report notes. Small announced that finishing touches were being put on the café in the days leading up to the September 2 gathering.
Filling a Long-Standing Food Access Gap
The café's arrival lands in a city where access to fresh food has been a persistent struggle. A September 2024 board-book excerpt from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority is linked here. Atlantic City has gone without a full-service supermarket since 2006, according to that report, a gap that has shaped how residents and visitors alike think about food options downtown.
A lobby coffee counter inside City Hall will not solve that broader shortage, but it does add a small food-service option in a municipal building at 1301 Bacharach Boulevard. The café is located in Atlantic City, in the municipal building at 1301 Bacharach Boulevard.
A Political Backdrop to the Ribbon-Cutting
The café's debut also arrives amid a period of political recovery for the mayor who named it. A Superior Court jury acquitted Small of all child abuse and endangerment charges in December, following a multi-day trial tied to domestic allegations involving his daughter, according to WHYY. The following month, Atlantic County prosecutors moved to dismiss remaining child abuse indictments against the mayor's wife, Dr. La'Quetta Small, who serves as superintendent of Atlantic City Public Schools, as reported by FOX 29, which noted prosecutors cited the daughter's wishes and the mayor's acquittal.
The café opening also fits into a broader pattern of municipal activity under Small's administration this month. Atlantic City's Municipal Council recently authorized $203,709.04 in federal grant funds for a six-unit homeownership project in Midtown North. That vote came the same week.
Private investment has kept pace with municipal moves elsewhere in Atlantic City. Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa's resort tower is the subject of a $107 million transformation, while Caesars Atlantic City is also part of the city's casino scene. Against that backdrop, a modest café counter in City Hall's lobby is a small addition, but one that gives Small another public-facing project to point to as he moves past his legal troubles.
