Rosemari Hicks offers a menu of lattes, chai teas and loaf slices courtesy of many Camden vendors and micro-business owners at her Nuanced Cafe, 225 Market St. in Camden. The decor of this newly-opened downtown coffee shop displays  similar hyper local touches including the wall in the seating area kept purposefully empty - with photographers and painters able to showcase their work and even sell it with all profits going to them. Hicks, a Merchantville resident for the past 20 years, hopes to see grow even more following the café’s January 11th soft opening. For now, customers can sit at socially-distanced tables in the café while wearing face masks. In the future she hopes to greet returning students from Rutgers-Camden. For more information call 609-332-3084 or visit www.facebook.com/NuancedCafe.

Jan Hanson, member of the Woman's Club of Merchantville, recently became the 57th President of the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs of GFWC, taking over responsibilities from 2018-20 president Mary Wolfe from Vineland. Jan joined the JWCM in 1982 and the Woman's Club of Merchantville in 1994. She served as her club's President as well as a number of district and State Board positions before her election in 2018 as the NJSFWC President-elect. She is a Pennsauken resident and served as past PTA president, as well as, a PYAA girls' basketball, soccer and softball coach. Barbara McCloskey, from the Woman's Club of the Denville-Rockaway, was named second vice-president.

Philly Voice recently featured a piece on new resident Andrew Tyler Mascieri. With a background in design, no one understands the ability to envision the true potential of a space with a keen eye better than Andrew.  Having over $8 million dollars in sales under his belt in just 2021 alone, he is PhillyLiving Real Estate’s highest producer on a team of 24 agents and uses a background in design to his advantage. Mascieri’s passion for architecture led him to purchase his very own fixer-upper in Merchantville in 2020 and since then, he's been renovating the 152-year-old Victorian home and documenting the process for his 15,000 followers on Instagram. Read the full article.

Roll up your sleeves with Merchantville resident and pizzaiolo, Thomas Woltjen, of Mercer Cafe. You're welcome to collect your own ingredients, purchase a pizza kit from Mercer, or just watch & learn. Contact Mercer Cafe to purchase $25 pizza kits that include two (2) 14 ounce dough balls, cheese, sauce, flour, and instructions. Mercer cafe is family owned and operated since 2000. Serving breakfast, lunch, brick oven pizza and dinner - also featuring a coffee bar and grab and go market. Call 267-457-5585 to order your pizza kit. Follow us on Instagram.

As a neighboring community, Merchantville appreciates the residents of Camden, Chief Joseph Wysocki, the Camden Police Department for the leadership they demonstrated by marching peacefully in solidarity to protest the killing of George Floyd this past Saturday. Since Camden’s police force disbanded and reformed in 2013 as a county agency, officers there have been hyper-focused on community policing. You will often see them walking beats or attending neighborhood block parties grilling up hamburgers and hot dogs. “We know that together we are stronger, we know that together, in the city of Camden, we can create a space where policing is focused on deescalation and dialogue,” Wysocki said. May 30th's peaceful protest and march in Camden was another example of their ongoing community engagement, and the very real dialogue that they are having with residents throughout Camden.