By Anna Skinner
The Black Plum Café, which features organic and chef-created menu items, opened two months ago in downtown Westfield. Having been open only since early November, owner Nancy Nearon has already established regular patrons, and business has steadily increased.
“The Black Plum is a café with old world charm that offers some of the world’s finest brewed coffee and highest quality teas,” she said. “It is a quaint, sit-down dining café with an ambiance like none other around town. It includes bistro and family seating, as well as a lounge nook for two or more. Outdoor seating is available during warmer months in a rose garden overlooking a koi pond.”
Nearon also has established a catering business where customers can make specific requests for menu items. The requested items will be made from scratch with fresh ingredients, Nearon said.
The Black Plum also specializes in made-to-order dessert cakes and pies, including an amaretto carrot cake and a Mayan chocolate pie. Cheesecakes will be available for pickup starting in January.
In the short time Nearon has been serving Westfield residents, some of the menu items have already become fan favorites.
“Popular food items include cranberry pecan cookies; chef-created gourmet wintertime soups; and healthy, garden-fresh sandwiches served with heirloom tomatoes,” she said.
Alongside those items, Nearon also offers homemade biscotti, organic coffees and teas, and a variety of breakfast and lunch dishes that are served all day.
The Black Plum Café, 303 E. Main St., is open 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Nearon said the café will open earlier once her staff grows. To order desserts, call the café at 804-7586 48 hours in advance. To schedule a catered event, call the café number during hours of operation. After business hours, call Nearon at 385-2712 for questions or catering requests.
