South Jersey cafe supporting the needy reopens after COVID closure

CAMDEN — The bottled and canned drinks are in the cooler. The kitchen staff is ready, the prep work done, the cookies and strawberry shortcakes packaged and ready to go.

The banner outside waves in the October breeze, telling people that CK Cafe, after more than two years of pandemic-forced closure, is once open again for business.

"We're really happy to reopen," said Noreen Flewelling, development director for Cathedral Kitchen, which serves meals to people in need and offers training for careers in culinary arts and hospitality. "We thought this might be a short closure, but here we are ..."

Where they are is right next to Cathedral Kitchen's Federal Street dining room in Camden, well-situated to serve the lunch crowds from Subaru, ResinTech and Campbell's Soup, among other businesses in the area. One of the challenges to reopening the cafe, Flewelling acknowledged, is fewer workers coming to their offices on a daily basis, putting a crimp not only in the cafe's walk-in visitors but also in its catering business.

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The cafe, which is owned and operated by Cathedral Kitchen, wasn't vacant during the long COVID pandemic: Even when Cathedral Kitchen was giving out to-go meals (the dining room reopened to guests in March), the nonprofit hosted a weekly Market Day, giving out boxes of food to anyone who needed one. The cafe was used as a staging area for the giveaways, its tables and chairs moved out of the way to accommodate boxes of meats, vegetables and cupboard staples.

The demand hasn't ended. August was a record-setting month, said Flewelling, with many people struggling to make ends meet as inflation continues to edge higher. The Cathedral Kitchen dining room served an average of about 400 people daily, and toward the end of the month — when food assistance and other aid often run out — as many as 600 people came to get meals.

Cathedral Kitchen's guest surveys found it's not just homeless and unemployed people who visit: 14 percent of its guests say they work full-time and 11 percent work part-time, while 31 percent of guests report never being homeless. Seventy-nine percent of the kitchen's guests come from Camden.

CK Cafe also offered a Pop-Up Cafe during much of the pandemic, with boxed meals available for in-home reheating; the meals include four servings of an entree, salad and dessert for pick-up at various locations in South Jersey and are priced in the $50 range. Catering continued, too, as well as meal preparation for nonprofits in Camden including Joseph's House and LUCY Outreach.

CK Cafe, though, "is the outward-facing part of what we do," the way people who are unfamiliar with Cathedral Kitchen learn about the work its staff does to feed people in need and offer job training and connections to other services.

A new coat of paint brightened up the space, and a new menu of salads and hot and cold sandwiches are some of the changes at the cafe, which is open weekdays between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Prices range from $9 to $13 for salads and sandwiches; there are drinks including cappuccino, espresso and lattes.

John Gonzalez, chief financial officer, said keeping price points relatively low was a challenge, but one that he and Chef Jason Hall work to meet.

"I try to find the right prices, always checking at the wholesale markets and watching prices," Hall said.

Cathedral Kitchen's budgets are set well in advance, and there's been little wiggle room as inflation has risen, said Executive Director Carrie Kitchen-Santiago.

"It's a lot of legwork for (Hall)," Gonzalez said. "The days of just going to one purveyor and buying whatever is needed are over."

Velton Adam has been with Cathedral Kitchen for 10 years. A graduate of its fourth culinary arts class, the Pennsauken resident has done it all in his time there: driver, market stand manager, catering, cooking. Stephanie Rivera, a lifelong Camden resident, has been with Cathedral Kitchen for five years, and has worked in a variety of roles as well.

"I just want people to come here and have a good experience," she said. "I love the mission, the people I work with, I have amazing bosses. I've never gone home from a day's work here and said, 'I had a bad day at work.'"

Justin Fernandez, who lives in Barrington, had several family members who graduated from the culinary program at Cathedral Kitchen, which inspired him to get a job working in the dining room and now, after six months, in the cafe.

"I like giving back," he said. "And I think (the cafe) is important, not just for Cathedral Kitchen, but for the city — to have a place to show off the talent and the skills of the people here."

"We really want this to be a place where people can have a great lunch, and feel good about it," said Gonzalez.

About the CK Cafe

• Location: 1506 Federal St., Camden

• Hours: Monday-Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Payment: Contactless; no cash accepted.

• CK Pop-Up: Meals for 4 people to reheat at home are available weekly. Pre-order:Friday-Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

• Donate or volunteer: www.cathedralkitchen.org/

Phaedra Trethan has been a reporter and editor in South Jersey since 2007 and has covered Camden and surrounding areas since 2015, concentrating on issues relating to quality of life and social justice for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. She's called South Jersey home since 1971. Contact her with feedback, news tips or questions at ptrethan@gannettnj.com, on Twitter @By_Phaedra, or by phone at 856.486-2417.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: CK Cafe in Camden NJ reopens for lunch, pre-order meals