Plus Cafe Brings Taste Of Europe To Marblehead

MARBLEHEAD, MA — After years of mastering the art of a filling breakfast McGrill or Peabody Stacker at the Peabody Diner, Klevis Qyrasi was ready to bring something a little more reminiscent of his home continent of Europe to the North Shore.

The challenge was finding the ideal spot for it.

The native Albanian told Patch he was initially interested in the old gas station on Pleasant Street that would become celebrity chef and "Hell's Kitchen" contributor Jason Santos' B&B Fish. So Qyrasi kept looking around Marblehead late in the spring before he came across the Atlantic Avenue location of what six months later would become Plus Café.

"We were driving around Marblehead one day when I saw it and I really liked the space," he said. "We wanted to do something different here in Marblehead."

Rather than the traditional breakfast and lunch diner favorites like scrambled eggs, home fries and burgers served in Peabody, Plus Café serves bakery items like daily-made croissants, Italian cookies, paninis and what could be some of the best coffee this side of the Atlantic Ocean with draft oatmeal lattes and a La Marzocco coffee machine from Italy.

Plus Café opened on Jan. 4.

Qyrasi said the coronavirus health crisis allowed them to go a little slower on the opening and try to make it as authentic to old-style Europe as they could.

“I could have opened in December but I decided to wait," said Qyrasi, who emigrated from Albania 21 years ago. "To be honest I wanted to start on the easy side myself. We didn't want to rush when you open, and it's really busy and you don't know exactly what you're doing.

"We want to fix the mistakes we make every day."

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Qyrasi said the scones, muffins and other baked goods are made it house each morning and the desserts are bought using local bakers.

He said 85 to 90 percent of the business is through takeout with a 20-person capacity making the recent fluctuations in the state's coronavirus limits of little consequence to the business.

"We're happy," he said. "Everyone seems happy. I cannot really say how it is because it's my business.

"I don't really like to judge for myself. We prefer customers come in and do that for us."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)