Back in 2021, Cafe Alyce took over the former spot of the Medical Center Luncheonette at 641 Montgomery Street in Jersey City. Founded by the same owners of the now-closed Hooked JC, Cafe Alyce was something that has been in the works since before Hooked JC even began in 2017. After launching as just a breakfast and lunch restaurant, this spot always had plans to expand more — and has since extended its hours and launched a dinner service. Now, Cafe Alyce has secured a liquor license and will be expanding to include a full-service cocktail bar, plus even more extended hours. Read on for more information about Cafe Alyce + what’s next for this Jersey City restaurant.
What’s to Come
The Jersey City spot has now secured a liquor license, and will be expanding to include a full cocktail bar — which will be available alongside the dinner menu six nights a week. On September 20th, 2023, Cafe Alyce took to Instagram to announce its expansion by posting screenshots of a recent Jersey Digs article about the new venture. The post said “Could not be more excited!!! Spread the news!!!”
We reached out to Cafe Alyce about the expansion, and they told The Hoboken Girl that there are “Lots of changes coming. Still getting our feet under us. We’ll definitely be expanding hours. We are redesigning the middle space as a full-service cocktail bar. And as always we will be incorporating local Jersey City history in everything we do.”
We will update this article with more details as they come out.
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How Cafe Alyce Came About
Tory Aunspach and Natalie Miniard are the owners of Cafe Alyce. When the spot first opened back in 2021, it was only open four days a week. Now, the restaurant has since expanded its hours to 8AM-10PM Wednesday through Monday (and we’re looking at even more expanded hours with this new expansion — but TBD on that). Cafe Alyce is currently closed on Tuesdays.
“We hope to be here for a long time,” Aunspach told HG in 2021. “We’re trying to make authentic, real food from scratch that people can really enjoy.”
Natalie had initially come across 641 Montgomery Street upon meeting Tommy and Sia, the original owners of Medical Center Luncheonette for 60 years. Miniard, a Realtor with Triplemint who has resided in Jersey City for the last 25 years, has been eyeing the spot as a place to do business. Around the same time, she reconnected with a pal from junior high school, Tory Aunspach, and introduced him to the location. Tory, formerly a private chef for mega yachts, immediately saw the potential of opening a cafe and moved to Jersey City five years ago.
After waiting until the owners were ready to sell the Luncheonette, Tory and Natalie launched Hooked JC, a seafood shack turned ghost kitchen. There, they prepared meals for four different kitchens: Hooked JC, Comfort Cookery, Lit Burger, and Green Things.
Eventually, Tommy and Sia decided to hand over the Luncheonette, and ever since then, especially after seeing what Cafe Alyce has become, they didn’t have any regrets and are very happy with the outcome.
Inside Cafe Alyce
The two business partners wanted to make sure the Luncheonette was not forgotten when they went to work on the interior setup of the restaurant. When guests walk inside, they still will see similarities between the two cafes. A big one that sticks out is the “Luncheonette” sign. We’re told the fluorescent lights that were from the kitchen were repurposed into the sign. Another feature that is unique to the cafe is the old vintage chandeliers that were handmade by a lamp maker in Jersey City.
The old radiators were repurposed into shelves on the wall. Once seated at the bar stools, patrons will find dated coins that were found under the radiators and embedded into the bar counter, and topped with shiny wood.
“I figured [the coins] had been here for 40 to 50 years, so I didn’t want to take them out now. Anything that I feel like had real historical value to this building, we tried to save,” Aunspach said.
The owners noted that they kept the original floors. The coffee that was served in the building, which comes from a company that’s been around for about 100 years, is still served.
About the Menu
Breakfast at Cafe Alyce is served from 8AM to 11AM and then after that, lunch is served until 3PM. The dinner menu is available from 4PM-10PM Wednesday through Saturday.
The breakfast menu consists of shakshuka grits, aloo paratha poached egg, bulgogi beef breakfast skillet, house-cured salmon and eggs, corned beef hash, shrimp and grits, oatmeal, and smoothies, among other things.
The lunch menu consists of the Cafe Alyce burger, corned beef sandwich, bulgogi beef sandwich, fried chicken sandwich, halloumi and Havarti grilled cheese, peanut lime salad, and roasted grapefruit and cottage cheese salad, among other things.
“I feel like our breakfast menu is more American than what you see at your average diner. I was raised in the south, so the grits we get from Oxford, Mississippi — the owner only ships to 120 of the best restaurants in the US — and we get Gulf of Mexico wild-caught shrimp,” said Tory, who has worked in the hospitality industry for over 25 years. “I think all that stuff really makes a difference.”
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The baked goods come from nearby Hudson Bakery and the biscuits and aloo paratha are made in-house. Also, a specialty that guests have been raving about is the homemade hash browns.
Tory shared the secret behind how the hash browns are made: “They’re made from scratch. We boil them, we shock them in ice water, we chill them overnight, and then we shred them, toss them with butter and seasoning. Then we bake them off in the oven, punch them into little circles, and then cook them one more time before they hit the plate. We cook them with butter and finish them off in the oven, and the little pieces around the edges we use for our corn beef hash.”
On the dinner menu, customers will find appetizers like brisket tacos, duck confit nachos, acorn squash samosas, and fried cheesy bites, among other dishes. Entrees include scallops over truffled fettuccine, a ribeye (with
house-spiced rub, a duck fat sear, herbed butter, potato pave, + snow peas), curried lamb + yam, a bulgogi beef bowl, short ribs, shrimp + grits, and a Cafe Alyce Burger (with lettuce, onion, tomato, + choice of cheese on a brioche bun), among other dishes. For dessert, try out the chocolate croissant bread pudding with chocolate sauce and homemade vanilla ice cream.
