A poster near the front entrance as well as an explanatory menu helps the uninitiated by explaining what these variations entail, so that when they make it to place their order they can do so with confidence. One can go for simplicity with an espresso, cappuccino or Small World Blend brewed coffee, or get fancy with such concoctions as Menthe Cafe Mocha, a mix of espresso, creme de menthe syrup from the French purveyor Monin, chocolate, hot milk and a generous portion of whipped creme. Small World's owners, the husband and wife team of Brant Cosaboom and Jessica Durrie, come with a feel for university towns, which may play into the shop's hipness. Durrie herself worked in the coffee bar world of Ann Arbor, Mich. and Santa Cruz, Calif., which gave her a base for what she wants Small World to be. But the two main reasons propelling the team to set up shop in Princeton were, according to Durrie, that the couple enjoy the kind of atmosphere a coffee bar can engender and that a university town is more resilient when economic downturns hit.
Human beings respond to friendliness.
The team also wanted to make their cafe a community center. One of my intentions was to get people together socially, to enjoy art and music. The bulletin board in the rest room, revolving art exhibits on the walls and various poetry readings and musical entertainment are part of this effort. Friendships have grown between university and high school students, between moms with young children - even romances have begun to blossom. When things get really busy, Durrie has no qualms about asking a regular if he or she would mind sharing some space.