{"id":224288,"date":"2026-05-08T04:36:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T04:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/224288\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T04:36:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T04:36:12","slug":"being-there-makes-all-the-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/224288\/","title":{"rendered":"Being There Makes All the Difference"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Muffins Caf\u00e9: No Wi-Fi for customers, but a hospitable welcome from the owners. Photos by Saul Dennis<\/p>\n

By Saul Dennis<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve frequented The Muffins Caf\u00e9, on Columbus Avenue between West 70th and 71st streets, for many years. I thought I knew the place. The owners, Ali and Biba Naouai, were nice people running a friendly, refined, yet modest caf\u00e9. Great coffee, pastries, soups, and sandwiches, with a French flair.<\/p>\n

Truth is, there\u2019s much more to the neighborhood\u2019s 33-year embrace of an establishment that one patron, Cheryl London, recently termed \u201can institution.\u201d<\/p>\n

For instance, the Muffins Caf\u00e9 experience is very much a reflection of the hospitality, generosity, and coffee culture central to Ali\u2019s Tunisian heritage.<\/p>\n

Victoria Naouai, 28, recently married to Khalil Naouai, also 28 (and one of Ali and Biba\u2019s five children),\u00a0describes it this way: \u201cHospitality is second nature in Tunisia\u2026and The Muffins Caf\u00e9 is very representative of the caf\u00e9 scene there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Khalil Naouai, helping out at the family cafe on a recent visit.<\/p>\n

Riffing off Victoria, Khalil adds: \u201c[T]he easy-going hospitality, it\u2019s from the Greek and Roman heritage. You never knew which deity was going to walk in, in human form.\u201d (The newlyweds were visiting from Montreal to help in the caf\u00e9. All five of Ali and Biba\u2019s kids have at one time or another worked in the caf\u00e9.)<\/p>\n

Still, this \u2018Tunisian connection\u2019 only partially explains the caf\u00e9\u2019s staying power.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe difference is Ali, the boss, being here. His presence,\u201d says Khalil.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Ali Naouai helping a customer.<\/p>\n

Joe, who, in addition to being a customer, cleans the caf\u00e9\u2019s inviting windows, amplified the thought: \u201cAli\u2019s very hands-on. I clean windows in a lot of restaurants and rarely see owners around as much as him.\u201d (Like almost all customers the Rag spoke with, Joe declined to give his last name or have his picture taken. But don\u2019t get the wrong idea. All were as friendly as the establishment that brings them together.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0Here\u2019s Biba, relating a recent visit from a customer who moved out of the neighborhood but stopped in to say hi. Muffins was a special place, the woman told Biba: \u201cI always knew I would see you and Ali here.\u201d<\/p>\n

I always knew I\u2019d see you there. Being truly present \u2014\u00a0physically and emotionally. When it comes to Muffins, was this the big idea?<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople really appreciate being spoken to, somebody saying something nice in the morning,\u201d says Ali, \u201cThis is something we\u2019ve lost as a society. We really don\u2019t touch, connect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe Maier, 35, new to the neighborhood and sipping a coffee at the caf\u00e9, says he feels the connection. \u201cIt\u2019s a very local vibe,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can tell people have been coming for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those who don\u2019t know the caf\u00e9, it\u2019s small. Just ten seats indoors, with a single bench outside. When weather and the weekend permit, a handful more seats appear on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Ali and Biba.<\/p>\n

According to Biba, \u201cThings happen here that wouldn\u2019t happen if we were bigger. Ali just stands there and people can\u2019t help themselves, telling him their life stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCustomers feel like they\u2019re part of a tribe,\u201d Biba explained. The tribe has come to appreciate another way Muffins does things \u2014 no Wi-Fi. (More accurate: The password is not given out.)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to offer people a break from work,\u201d explained Julian Lasher, who started at Muffins this past November. Both he and a fellow employee, Douglas McRobb, observed, \u201cA lack of WiFi creates an abundance of conviviality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Muffins employee Douglas McRobb.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Cheryl London again, who\u2019s been coming to the caf\u00e9 for 20 years. \u201cColumbus Avenue has really changed. Everything is a chain. The charming places have vanished,\u201d she said. \u201cThe Muffins is one of the few left. This is the old Upper West Side.\u201d<\/p>\n

A gentleman who declined to give his name shared that he\u2019s been coming to Muffins for a decade. He echoed London\u2019s sentiment: \u201cThis place feels like the Upper West Side, small and neighborly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raquel DeJesus has worked behind Muffins\u2019 counter for twenty years. Before that, she worked with Biba and Ali at Le Espices du Traiteur, a much-loved restaurant the couple ran for thirteen years, around the corner from Muffins.<\/p>\n

\u201cCustomers really like that we know their orders without speaking, but also smile when they are spoken to,\u201d said DeJesus.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, the best part of the job is when they take the time to ask my name.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Victoria, the young woman who recently married into the Muffins family, the way the caf\u00e9 operates is also part of its appeal. \u201cIt\u2019s something to behold. A certain way of moving through the space,\u201d she says, adding, \u201cIt\u2019s not just a well-oiled machine. It\u2019s a kind of an unsaid choreography.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re lucky to have really good employees,\u201d said Khalil, defining a good employee as, \u201cperceptive, knowing what needs to be done at any moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting up to help a new customer, Khalil shared a parting thought. Employees at the caf\u00e9, he said, \u201cneed a thick skin to manage Ali\u2019s quality control, which is really at the level of a restaurant kitchen, not a small caf\u00e9.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now would be natural time to mention those standards and the fare that arises from them. All are what you might expect from Ali, a chef classically trained in France.<\/p>\n

Of course there are muffins \u2014 nine varieties, including banana chocolate chip, lemon poppy, and morning glory. But the menu extends well beyond the cafe\u2019s namesake pastry. Asked about customer favorites, Ali is pleasantly non-committal: \u201cIn the summer, salads and sandwiches. Soups, in the winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the bench out front, a couple was far more demonstrative: \u201cThe cheese danish rocks,\u201d the woman said enthusiastically, adding, \u201cYou do know what rocks means, yes?\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, more relevant than even rocking cheese danish \u2014 at least to this reporter \u2014 is the fact that the feelings between The Muffins Caf\u00e9 and the neighborhood are mutual, in the happy extreme.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The celebration for Theo Dixon last August.<\/p>\n

Consider a WSR story from this past summer. It concerns Theo Dixon<\/a>. \u00a0Known as the Mayor of the Upper West Side for over 20 years, Theo could be found at Muffins dispensing love, wisdom, and his signature slogan, Keep Love Alive.<\/p>\n

Last August 5th, The Muffins Caf\u00e9 and others hosted a celebration of Theo\u2019s 100th birthday. Yet another example of being present, being there. Physically and emotionally. For Theo. And the community.<\/p>\n

No wonder another patron, a man who said he\u2019s lived on the UWS for 86 years, described Muffins as \u201chaving a nice sense of place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allow me to humbly add, a rather special place.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to West Side Rag\u2019s FREE email newsletter\u00a0here<\/a>. And you can Support the Rag\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Muffins Caf\u00e9: No Wi-Fi for customers, but a hospitable welcome from the owners. Photos by Saul Dennis…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224289,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,88138,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-224288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-muffins-cafe","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}