Café Mavi Celebrates a Decade Serving Summit

The corner of Maple Street and Union Place has become the default meeting spot for so many people in Summit. The cafe-restaurant, Café Mavi, built by Turkish immigrants from Mountain Lakes has gone on to become an institution in Union County, with a kiosk at the Summit train station serving bleary eyed morning commuters to a partnership with a bread shop in Cranford.

This month marks 10 years that Mavi has served the city, a milestone for any Downtown business. Step through the glass doors of Mavi and you'll find a who's who of Summit, from local politicians, businessmen, to local store employees taking a lunch break.

While the cafe-restaurant has over , its tried and true staples: coffee and its Mediterranean-style menu, are what keep folks coming back. In a review of the cuisine, the blog YouDontKnowJersey.com highlighted the kabobs.

"The kabobs are the star of the dinner menu with almost any kind of meat you can imagine along with some combinations of different meats to satisfy whatever craving you’re having."

But the restaurant has also had a moment in the spotlight for something other than food after the cafe's co-founder and family patriarch Fevsi Zeren grew a rare plant in the basement.

A scientist by training, Zeren grew a 5 foot 9-inch so-called corpse plant in the cafe's basement in 2008. The botany world took notice, and so did local media.

With Summit's coffee economy (there are at least half-a-dozen local shops that specialize in serving cups of Joe) heating up with the arrival of , Mavi shows no signs of slowing down after a decade Downtown.