Food Network Contestant, Gingerbread Extraordinaire To Open Coffee Shop In Basking Ridge

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Food Network contestant and gingerbread extraordinaire Mollie Dowd is gearing up to open The Porch, a new coffee tea bakery in Basking Ridge.

"We are hoping for a mid-July opening. We are hiring and interviewing now," said Dowd to Patch.

The Porch will open inside an 1850s farmhouse at 107 S Maple Ave. in Basking Ridge alongside Dowd's handmade luxury gingerbread boutique called Edible Estates.

Her vision is to offer coffee and tea along with her sweet treats in a comfortable place for locals to hang out.

For the past two years. Dowd has been "plugging away and reconstructing the building."

Major structural work has since been done on the building, including adding steel beams in the basement to support the first floor while also preserving the history of the building.

"I have architectural training in my background, and I've always just been so enamored with architecture in general and even historic elements. And this building, while it's not on the Historic Register, which I'm actually glad, has pieces of it that I totally cherish," said Dowd.

The original hand-notched wood beams, which were replaced with steel, are being made into furniture and benches to preserve them.

There are also touches around the shop honoring the original owner, who was a blacksmith, and details including an original hitching post for a horse.

Once ready to open, The Porch will focus on serving signature coffee and tea.

"We're serving a lot of Macha because I'm actually a tea person," said Dowd. "We're going to be really heavy on some of the organic loose leaf teas. We're getting our Macha from Ooika in Princeton. They grind their matcha fresh from Japan."

Additionally, The Porch will be serving Onyx coffee, who Dowd said is a leading coffee roaster.

"We're going to be the first in New Jersey to be serving Onyx, which is fabulous," said Dowd.

Then on the bakery side, they will offer the "Edible Estates' small batch baked goods that will pair nicely with everything we're doing at The Porch."

Dowd said she will incorporate ingredients from the cafe into the bakery side that include chocolate, coffee, matcha, turmeric, Earl Grey teas, and more.

"So it's not going to be your classic bakery where you come in and look at the big window of donuts. That's exactly what we're not going to be. It's a little more specialty than that, and it's pairings with what's going on in the coffee shop," said Dowd.

Additionally, around the holidays, Edible Estates will offer specialty items such as pies for Thanksgiving, gingerbread items for Christmas, special cookies, and more.

Dowd also has an edible art studio in the back, where locals can have events. Guests can come in with a group of friends and do an activity that is immersive and completely edible such as gingerbread house building.

Overall, Dowd is excited to have a soft opening next month and a grand opening planned after Labor Day.

"It's just been a long time coming, because I've just been online or, behind the scenes, and then this past two years, just sort of working on the building and just sort of waiting to open up. So I'm super excited that we're finally going to be able to share everything with everyone," said Dowd. "It's just really great to see smiling faces and people excited about what we are doing. And it's just gonna make the experience even that much better."

For more information, visit theporchnj.com or instagram.com/theporchcoffeenj.

Previous Reporting:

• Handmade Luxury Gingerbread Boutique & Cafe Coming To Somerset County

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