6 Main Street, West Orange
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Ray Locicero, the owner of Orange Sky Coffee Roaster in downtown West Orange, has put a lot of thought into what makes the perfect cup of coffee and the answer may surprise you. Decaf, black, dark roast, or drowning in milk and sugar — coffee is meant to be enjoyed however you like it.
The 39-year–old has been obsessed with coffee since his college years, when roasting exotic beans became a hobby. But last year he decided to leave his job as a mechanical engineer to go all-in on his new venture at 6 Main Street. His engineering background comes in handy working with the on-site six-kilo roaster, which is rigged up to a computer to ever-so precisely track the temperature.
“If I could make coffee taste the way it smells – that’s something I’m chasing,” Locicero said.
There are so many variables that contribute to the taste of coffee, including how a bean is washed, the mineral content of the water, the region it comes from, even how quickly the beans cool after toasting them. Adding another layer of complexity, the menu often features blends of light and dark roasts, along with sugary concoctions like the smores latte.
“Coffee’s one of those things that is easy to learn but difficult to master,” Locicero said.
He is also down to earth, which makes it easy to root for his success. “We don’t want to lecture people when they come in,” Locicero said. “If they have questions, by all means, but we just want people to have good service – that’s what people come back for.”
The shop is takeout-only for the moment, but he and his wife, Trish, who decked out the interior with a cheerful minimalist decor, plan on expanding once they get settled in, so customers can sit down and soak in the view of the 19th-century brownstone church across the street as they get their caffeine fix. In the meantime, coffee lovers can also order Orange Sky’s fresh-roasted beans on their website.
Locicero is not the township’s first roaster – that honor belongs to Garan Dickson at Harper’s Cafe in the Valley – but the shop is a welcome addition to the St. Mark’s neighborhood, which is now home to five restaurants, Ben Georgia’s art studio, and Supreme Bakery. A few blocks up the street a 126-unit residential building is under construction. This picturesque bend in Main Street is on its way to becoming a special place, he believes.
“We’ve had a really warm welcoming so far,” he said.
