Cranford Coffee Maven Gives It Away In Summit, Westfield All Week

CRANFORD, NJ — Ahrre Maros opened his first coffee shop in Cranford in 1990. He closed it four years later because he had also opened a shop in Westfield and was "competing with myself" — but his ambitions didn't end. He went on to open a shop in 1993 in Summit.

Now he'll celebrate the 30th anniversary of his first shop by offering free coffee through Saturday in his two shops. He'll also get visits from the mayors of both towns.

"Free fresh-brewed coffee, all day, all week, at both locations," he said. "One cup per customer, per visit, every 20 minutes!"

Maros will spend two hours each day at each shop, Monday through Saturday.

Mayor Shelley Brindle of Westfield will pop into his Elm Street shop in that town on Monday, Feb. 10 (the actual anniversary of the company) at 2:30 p.m. Maros will be at the store from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. that day.

Mayor Nora Radest of Summit will be with Maros at his Springfield Ave. shop at noon on Tuesday. Maros will be at the store from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. that day.

Maros, the son of Hungarian immigrant parents, grew up in Summit in the 1970s. He and a friend earned money cleaning chimneys around his town, as well as Ridgewood and Glen Rock. He took his enterprising spirit to Whittier College and the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he discovered coffee.

After college, he moved to Berkeley to live with a girlfriend and tasted the groundbreaking Peet's Coffee, where he ended up working.

In 1988, when he came back to Summit for his 10-year high school reunion, he decided to stay and go into the coffee business. He also founded a popular charity concert series.

His Westfield shop is located at 104 Elm St. His Summit shop is inside the Wine List at 417 Springfield Ave.

Read more about Ahrre here. Find out more about him and his shops at Ahrre.com.

Got news in Cranford, Westfield, or Summit? Email caren.lissner@patch.com. Subscribe to free alerts and the daily newsletter here.