What Should Replace Hobcaw Cafe?

For two years, the Hobcaw Cafe in Verona served up fresh, Southern-inspired food. In September 2012 the popular cafe closed its doors for good.

The cafe, located at 20 Grove Ave. in Verona, is situated in a small strip mall just off of Bloomfield Avenue surrounded by Tortilla Sunrise and Krauser's deli as its neighbors.

So this is where you come in, Verona and Cedar Grove community. The concept behind this column is we’ll present a vacant building and ask you to tell us what you think would be the best use of the vacant space.

Here's the fun part: Forget what zone it’s in. Ignore setback regulations, as well as dump lot coverage rules and all the other zoning jargon that puts most people to sleep.

Our bottom line: If you had your way, what would you like to see there? What would be the best use of the space for the community?

To make this work, this can’t be a one-sided conversation. We want to hear from you in our comments section. And, please, let us know if there’s a vacant space/building you know of as well we can feature in a future column.

Send emails about vacant buildings or stores to Verona-Cedar Grove Patch Associate Editor Eric Goodman at eric.goodman@patch.com.

About this column: Patch wants your help deciding what to do with vacant buildings around town. What's your ideal business to take over a vacant building. Let us know.