LOCAL

New organic café planned for Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach

Contract details with Palm Beach-based Seaview Cafe to operate the establishment could be finalized by next week.

Jodie Wagner
Palm Beach Daily News
As shown in this rendering, Palm Beach-based Seaview Cafe plans to open a new organic café at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center. Contract negotiations are in the final stages.

A new organic café offering grab-and-go sandwiches, pressed juices and freshly ground coffee could open by the end of the year at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center.

At its regular meeting last month, the Town Council approved the framework of a contract with Palm Beach-based Seaview Cafe to operate the small eatery, which will occupy a 300-square-foot space in the southeast corner of the recreation center. That space currently is being utilized as a grab-and-go vending room.

Contract details with Seaview Cafe could be finalized by early next week, said Mark Bresnahan, the town's recreation director.

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The contract would cover an initial period of three years, with the option to renew for two additional one-year periods contingent upon satisfactory performance, according to town documents.

The café would be the first of its kind at the Mandel Recreation Center, 340 Seaview Ave., which opened in December 2019 and features multi-purpose rooms, a gym, after-school room, game room, renovated pro shop and expanded playground.

It replaced the town's original recreation center, which opened 40 years ago. That building was demolished in August 2018 to make way for the new facility, which is significantly larger.

The Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center opened in December 2019.

"There was a missing piece to the puzzle as far as making us more of a complete center," Bresnahan said. "A lot of people have been asking for it. If you look at all we have to offer, this was the last missing piece. Right now, unfortunately, it's more of a grab-and-go vending venue, and it's really tough to choose a healthy option.

"Sometimes our staff will get their lunch out of there. Kids and parents attending our programs go in there, and a lot of times it's not easy to make a healthy choice the way it's set up. This will allow for that opportunity to a greater extent."

Seaview Cafe owners Vanja Turanjanin and Monika Meic Capin have planned a menu that includes organic sandwiches, salads and wraps, freshly ground coffee, fresh-pressed juices, smoothies, ice cream, muffins, croissants and overnight oatmeal.

Most of the menu items will be sold on a grab-and-go basis, but beverages will be prepared on site, Bresnahan said.

The café does not have a vent, so no cooking or grilling will be permitted.

"They're really focused on coffee and smoothies," Bresnahan said of Turanjanin and Capin. "It's going to be an excellent source for anyone who wants to come by and have a smoothie before a workout, or a salad and a drink after a tennis match."

Seating inside the café will be limited, but there are numerous other seating options within and outside the recreation center, Bresnahan said.

"There might be one table inside the café," he said. "But visitors will be able to utilize all the other seating that we have. Not only is there outside seating, but there's plenty of seating in and around the park. I'm sure we'll have people who will grab stuff and eat in their various locations."

Bresnahan said he expected the café will draw customers from nearby offices and schools as well as those participating in recreation center activities.

"Those who are looking for an alternative can come to grab a bite or a coffee," Bresnahan said. "It'll be a nice community resource."

Council members expressed support for the new café, which is the first such venture for longtime friends Turanjanin and Capin.

"I think people have been underestimating the rec center all along," council member Lew Crampton said. "And every time, it's exceeded expectations. I'm hopeful this will too. I promise when it's my turn to buy lunch for the council, that I will patronize the café at the rec center." 

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.comHelp support our journalism. Subscribe today.