Great Day Cafe Opens Inside Atlantic City City Hall

New public cafe offers coffee, breakfast and lunch while giving a local small business a new foothold in City Hall

ATLANTIC CITY — There's a new place to grab coffee, breakfast or lunch in the heart of Atlantic City's government district.

City officials celebrated the grand opening Wednesday of the Great Day Cafe, a new concession area inside the ground-floor lobby of Atlantic City City Hall.

Mayor Marty Small Sr., members of City Council, city employees and guests participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the cafe, which is operated by local business Beat the Daily Grind Café.

The cafe offers coffee, snacks and grab-and-go breakfast and lunch items and is open to both City Hall employees and the general public.

Atlantic City Health and Human Services Director Jarrod Barnes, who came up with the concept, discussed the project Wednesday on The AC Mike Lopez Show on WOND shortly after the grand opening.

“Really wanted to focus on providing options for not only the employees here in City Hall, but just any resident that comes inside of City Hall,” Barnes said. “But it's open for everyone.”

An idea born from a city management program

Barnes developed the concept as his capstone project through the city's Certified Public Manager program, focusing on providing more nutritious food options at City Hall.

“My capstone project was to provide healthier options for all of the residents of the city of Atlantic City,” Barnes told Lopez. “And a part of that was to actually have a concession area for inside of City Hall.”

Barnes said in a statement released by the city that the project combines two objectives: healthier choices and an opportunity for a local business.

“Healthy living is a priority under the Small Administration, and this new café is a great reflection of that commitment,” Barnes said. “We want to provide our employees and City Hall visitors with healthier food options through this concession area while also creating an opportunity for a local small business to grow.”

Small said the cafe is part of his administration's effort to improve the environment for both employees and residents who use City Hall.

“We all work in an extremely stressful environment, and my administration is going to do our part to make sure our employees, along with our residents, are making healthy choices,” Small said.

“As a visionary leader, I'm completely changing the culture at City Hall, and by offering services like the Great Day Café, we are making City Hall a place the public should be proud of.”

Not just for City Hall employees

Barnes emphasized during the WOND interview that the cafe isn't restricted to municipal employees.

He pointed to the Atlantic County offices, courthouse, AtlantiCare, Gateway and Atlantic City Board of Education facilities in the surrounding area as potential sources of customers.

“It's for everybody,” Barnes said.

The cafe is also adjacent to City Hall's renovated courtyard, giving customers an outdoor place to eat or meet.

“You can go outside and you can sit in the courtyard,” Barnes said. “And if you want to have a meeting outside, you can have a meeting outside while you grab something to eat.”

Local business wins contract

Beat the Daily Grind Café was the sole respondent to the city's request for proposals for a concessionaire and was awarded the contract to operate the cafe, according to the city.

Barnes said Wednesday that providing an opportunity for a small local business was an important part of the project.

“Casinos are great,” Barnes told Lopez. “They provide a lot, a lot of opportunity for the residents here in Atlantic City. But the small businesses is the heartbeat of the city.”

“We love working with small businesses,” Barnes added. “Hopefully, you know, we continue doing things. We'll have more small businesses involved with all the opportunities that we have here.”

Part of larger City Hall improvements

The Great Day Cafe occupies a previously unused ground-floor space that the city said was renovated and expanded for the project.

Weatherby Construction Company served as contractor, while Arthur Ponzio Co. provided engineering services and project oversight in coordination with the city's Department of Public Works.

The cafe is one piece of a broader series of improvements at City Hall.

New flooring was installed throughout the lobby over the Labor Day holiday weekend, according to the city, while exterior painting improvements on the South Carolina and Tennessee avenue sides of the building were completed during the summer.

Last month, City Hall was also dedicated in honor of the late Ernest D. Coursey Sr.

The Great Day Cafe is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

And for first-time customers, Barnes already has a recommendation.

“Please come down, get the famous avocado toast,” he said. “That's the biggest hit.”