Nice Place Coffee opens in Speonk

You can’t possibly get your head around Nice Place Coffee without the help of Evan Church. But that’s not going to be a problem because he is almost always there, a combination of curator, connoisseur and cheerleader for the astonishing collection of hot beverages, chocolates and baked goods that fill this sunny shop next to the Speonk LIRR station.

“This place can be overwhelming when you come in,” he concedes. “And if you are just about to catch a train, it’s probably not for you.”

But if you have an hour to spare and would like a world tour of cult chocolatiers — along with free samples — you are in for a treat.

Evan and Kate, his wife and partner, have lived in Speonk for a decade and they spent most of that time “looking for a good cup of coffee. We kept waiting for someone to open a place like this,” he said, “finally we just did it ourselves.” Nice Place opened in August.

In her time Kate has worked as a real estate agent and preschool teacher, but it's her skill as an interior designer that allowed her to create an eclectic vibe that manages to be modern, rustic and chic. (The reclaimed wood here is really reclaimed — the family took apart wooden pallets for the tables and wainscoting.) 

Nice Place displays paintings from local artists, but the dominant visual motif is Chocolate Bar. Evan has sourced more than 300 products from scores of small producers all over the world, each one more frame-worthy than the last. But, he insists, “they taste even better than the packaging looks.”

There’s Fossa Chocolate, from Singapore, whose chili-peanut-praline chocolate Evan is currently recommending to customers. He is loving Standout from Sweden, which doesn’t do any flavors but whose 70% single-origin from India may be his favorite in the shop right now. Or that distinction might be reserved for the LetterPress (Los Angeles) bar made from cacao grown on the Bachelor’s Hall estate in Jamaica. Or the chocolate-covered honeycomb from Mirzam Emirati in the United Arab Emirates.

If you talk to Evan long enough, he will eventually name every chocolate as his favorite, so it comes as a relief to learn that Nice Place only serves three brands of coffee: An organic dark roast from Yemen, Filicori Zecchini from Bologna and DEK decaf from Lavazza of Turin. Kate once worked as a barista and she’s in charge of pulling espressos from the big, black San Remo machine. Kate enjoys tea as much as coffee and she’s created a range of signature matcha drinks that might be flavored with coconut, lavender and / or cocoa. 

Kate’s muffins, oat squares and frittatas are supplemented by sfogliatelle and cartocci from Frank & Son in Mastic and Old World cookies and cakes from IndiePeasant Pastries in Center Moriches. Evan’s work in real estate takes him into New York City a few times a week and when he comes home, he brings Italian pastries from Veniero’s in the East Village as well as Yemeni honeycomb bread from a cafe in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

About that honeycomb bread, it’s called khaliat al nah in Arabic and it’s filled with tiny orbs of fresh cheese and topped with sesame seeds. Kate warms it up until the edges get crisp and then she strews it with Yemeni honey. Even if you don’t like coffee, chocolate, tea or Italian pastries, it’s worth a trip to Nice Place just for that. 

Nice Place Coffee is open Tuesday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 41 N. Philips Ave., Speonk, 646-232-4633