'Huge Blessing': Farmingdale's Elise's Niece's Café Owner Recognized By Marquis Who's Who

FARMINGDALE, NY — Elise's Niece's Café has been immortalized in the Marquis Who's Who Biographical Registry.

People profiled for the biographical volumes are selected for factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field, according to a news release.

Jenna Tomeo, owner of the café, located at 441 Main St., Farmingdale, behind her parents' vintage home decor shop, Back In Time, said she never even considered the long-term plan of being honored by a biography company.

The honor is special to Tomeo because the memory of her aunt, Elise, will endure. Tomeo and her aunt used to bake together before Elise died of melanoma cancer not long before Tomeo opened the café bearing her name.

"When they called me, one of the things they mentioned was that it lives on forever," Tomeo told Patch. "Even if we one day aren’t in business anymore, the name of the company, who we are, our accomplishments, will always be in their database. It will always be remembered. I think that ties in with my homage of my aunt being remembered. I think that was really special. I was taken by surprise when they called, because I was like, 'How did they even hear of me or find me?'"

Tomeo was told that Marquis Who's Who looks up the accomplishments of their honorees through articles and achievements.

"It’s a huge thanks to all the people who have written about us, because that’s how they really found us to begin with," Tomeo said. "It’s a huge thank you to our community. It’s a huge blessing for us."

Tomeo recently celebrated her shop's three-year anniversary. Elise's Niece's Café has become known for award-winning cookies, brownies, cakes, banana pudding and healthier takes on classic comfort desserts — Dunkaroo whoopie pies and Pop Tarts, for example.

She said the recognition from Marquis is "definitely" validation that she is on the right track and serves as motivation to stay on her current path.

"Every little thing — every article I do, every story, every little accomplishment, any piece of feedback from our customers — that’s all the things that keep us going," Tomeo said. "To have [Marquis] reach out to us and recognize who we are, our story, our achievements, it definitely gives us the extra boost to keep going."

Tomeo said the boost was "especially" needed because 2024 has been a difficult year for "many business" owners she's spoke with.

"Between an election year, the economy, inflation, the weather has been terrible this summer. It’s been a pile of so many things," Tomeo said. "I’ve spoken to so many local businesses that are like, 'Are you feeling it?' I’m like, 'We’re all seeing it. You’re not alone. We’re all in it together.' It’s just getting through the hump. It’s a scary time. It’s good to have the extra boost of confidence. Also to talk to other local businesses and be like, 'We’re all in it together, We’re all on the same page. We’ve just got to get through this year, and hopefully next year will be a better year.'"

Elise's Niece's Café's penchant for giving back was one of the factors Marquis considered when naming Tomeo to the Who's Who list.

"Her dedication to her business is evident through her deep involvement and her desire to make a positive impact on the lives of others," Marquis wrote.

Tomeo said giving back is a "super important" part of her business. She has held fundraisers for charities like Tunnel to Towers and donated gift baskets to be raffled off for the benefit of Long Island cancer charities.

"I think I’ve learned throughout doing this that what you put into your business and your customers and what you invest into their lives, it really does come full circle back to you," Tome said. "So any charity that we do, any donation that we do, a fundraiser."

Tomeo also likes to help customers celebrate their birthdays.

"'Oh my God, pick a piece of candy,'" she tells them. "Just making memories here is part of our whole homage. The store is Back in Time and brings back memories. I relive my aunt every day. So just continuing to do good for our community, our customers and make memories for them, I think that’s just a huge staple of who we are."

Tomeo's goals for the rest of 2024 are to try and reach new people; she said she got 10 first time- customers one morning last week. At the same time, she wants to grow relationships with her regulars.

"Another thing we’re working on is creative desserts for the holidays to bring people in. This year, we’re going to be ditching pies and bringing in pie cakes. That’s a fun different thing to bring to the holidays. We get people who come in and want to bring something different and be unique. So I think it’s just continuing to be innovative and creative with our desserts and growing our relationships with our customers."

Collaborations with her fellow business owners is another innovation that Tomeo has explored. A partnership with Lithology Brewing Company is on tap: Tomeo is planning a cookie and beer flight pairing event where four cookies and brews will be matched up for a "certain period of time."

"It’s always good to work with local businesses," Tomeo said. "Whiskey Down Diner, we work with. We sell our coconut cake to them, so they carry it at the diner. Supporting each other is very important."

Tomeo also hosts local merchants at her own farmers market events, run in the courtyard behind Back in Time.

People interested in Elise's Niece's Café's events can check out the shop's Instagram page, which Tomeo has been continuing to grow. The café has more than 10K followers, which Tomeo said has been a "really huge help."

Tomeo posts videos of "experiment days" where she tries her hand at a new confection. She has her employees make videos to show off new coffee options at the business and share their favorite desserts.

"It’s getting them to know about our employees a little bit more," Tomeo said. "That very humble, down to earth content, we just wanted to be very organic and relatable. Definitely continuing to put an emphasis on that. We’ll probably do some holiday boxes for our shipping. That will be good for people who want to send care packages and gifts to their loved ones. I think it’s full throttle on things that we do but constantly bettering ourselves."