Plants + Coffee, the plant-filled cafe on Northampton Street in Easton, is knocking down a wall — figuratively, for now — to grow into the space next door. The shop announced in a September Facebook post that it had acquired the neighboring unit at 1458 Northampton St., previously home to Mystery Box Games, and construction on the buildout is already underway.
The expansion will include room for shopping, additional seating and a larger kitchen, according to The Lafayette. Owner Jenny DeLorenzo has said she hopes the extra space will help the business reach a wider swath of the community. Separately, The Morning Call reported the plans call for more seating, a new test kitchen, more plants and an expanded selection from the shop's in-house bookstore, Jojo's Book Nook.
DeLorenzo told the Morning Call she hopes to finish the expansion by the end of the year, and per the Lafayette's reporting, the cafe is tentatively eyeing an opening in the first couple of weeks of December. WFMZ reports that a firm target opening date had not yet been determined as of its interview with DeLorenzo, though she remained hopeful for a year-end debut.
Tripling the Cafe's Footprint
Plants + Coffee currently seats around 24 guests, and the expansion is expected to roughly triple that capacity, DeLorenzo said, according to the station's report. The buildout will also include a new kitchen along with a separate checkout counter for retail shoppers, the same account notes. Construction has already begun, and DeLorenzo does not anticipate the work interfering with the cafe's day-to-day operations, per the same reporting.
The two spaces will be physically connected, letting customers move directly between the original cafe and the new addition. A doorway that had been sealed off while Mystery Box Games operated next door will reopen so people can go back and forth between the rooms, DeLorenzo explained to the station. Mystery Box Games closed in August after operating there since 2022, when it first opened as Punch Out Games, according to the Morning Call, though DeLorenzo has said the game lounge may continue hosting pop-up events around Easton that are unaffiliated with Plants + Coffee.
More Kitchen Space, More Books
A bigger kitchen is central to the plan. DeLorenzo told the Morning Call the expanded space will increase food production and help the cafe meet customer demand, potentially allowing it to offer dishes like soups and salads more often than just in the fall. The cafe has also been discussing with staff whether it could extend its hours once the new space comes online, the outlet reported. Lorelei Norelli, a regular at the Easton cafe, is among the customers who frequent the shop as it prepares for the bigger footprint.
Jojo's Book Nook, the small bookstore tucked inside Plants + Coffee, is also set to get more breathing room. The shop is run by Jocelyn “Jojo” Schienholz, a Plants + Coffee barista who originally envisioned opening a mobile bookstore before The Morning Call reported she collaborated with DeLorenzo to bring the idea in-store instead. Schienholz has said the shop can feel small relative to how busy it gets, and that the additional square footage should improve both movement through the cafe and seating for customers.
A Cozier, More Inclusive Space
Schienholz said she's excited about having more room to move around and serve customers once the expansion is finished. She hopes Plants + Coffee and Jojo's Book Nook will eventually grow to host more events for book lovers, and that customers who walk in will feel welcomed, included and represented in the space. DeLorenzo, for her part, has said the cafe's broader aim is simply to make more things — more food, more room, more reasons to stay a while.
Ultimately, Schienholz said she hopes anyone who steps through the door finds what the cafe has offered since its April 2023 grand opening: a cozy place to relax, drink coffee and enjoy a new read, just with a lot more elbow room to do it in.
