If you notice some of your neighbors walking down the street with an extra perk in their step, it might be because of a brand new coffee shop that recently opened in Floral Park. Villagers Perk, which is owned by Floral Park resident Maryory Alberici who emigrated from Colombia, is dedicated to providing its customers with healthy options.
“We thought it was important to have all of our coffee organic and we want to use whole ingredients. Not an ingredient that is half a paragraph long with words that you can’t even understand. That was important to my wife,” said Danny Alberici, who is an employee of Villagers Perk.
The lack of fine coffee within the village was one motivator that made the Albericis want to open up their own coffee shop.
“The delis do a good job of providing the average cup of joe but there was nowhere really to go sit down where adults can go with their kids and get a really good cup of coffee,” said Danny. “That was definitely part of the motivation that led us to consider opening up Villagers Perk.”
Not wanting to infringe on other local businesses, items that are currently sold at Villagers Perk can all be found at various high-end coffee establishments. Not only does Villagers Perk sell coffee, lattes, espressos, cappuccinos and assorted pastries, but they also sell homemade acai bowls and smoothies and plan to launch protein shakes and organic juicing as time goes on.
If having a regular cup of coffee isn’t your cup of tea, Villagers Perk also offers a variety of flavoring, which includes vanilla, caramel, chocolate, hazelnut, dark chocolate, white chocolate and marshmallow.
According to Alberici, the current best-sellers amongst customers are the iced coffees with iced lattes being a close second.
Villagers Perk, which had its grand opening recently, has experienced a slow growth in attracting customers.
“I think the community is starting to slowly realize that we’re open and we’re there,” explained Alberici.
If the community support is there, Alberici said he and his wife would consider branching out and opening up in other locations.
“That’s a little bit early for us to consider right off the bat but if we see that people are really responsive to it, then we’d certainly consider opening another place,” said Alberici.
Currently, Villagers Perk is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
“We’re in the process of hiring some more people so then maybe we can accommodate opening on Sundays,” explained Alberici. “We’re just trying to see where the community is at, when they feel like coming out and getting a feel for the ebb and the flow of it all.”
Villagers Perk is located at 43 Covert Ave., in Floral Park.
