Cup and Top Cafe to close after 11 years in Florence

MassLive, July 10, 2017, by Michelle Williams

After more than a decade of serving food and drink in a family-friendly environment, Cup and Top Cafe will close in Florence, making way for a new business to open later this year.

When her children were young, Helen Kahn longed for a casual restaurant that offered healthy food choices for both her and the smallest members of her family.

“I would walk past this spot in Florence that had been vacant for some time and thought it would be perfect. I hoped someone would open the kind of place I was imagining,” Kahn said.

Then, at five months pregnant, Kahn was laid off.

With no restaurant expierence, she decided to open the cafe of which she’d dreamt.

Cup and Top Cafe opened on Main Street in February 2006, offering homemade pastries, smoothies, breakfast, lunch and an assortment of coffee and tea drinks. While adults sit, children are welcomed to enjoy the cafe’s play area.

After 11 years, Kahn says she’s ready to try new things. “It’s been a lovely run and I achieved what I wanted to achieve,” she said.

Not wanting the cafe to close, Kahn looked for a new owner for the business with “renewed enthusiasm” for her original mission. Kahn believes she has found that in Kitty and Tom Johndrow, a couple who recently moved to Western Massachusetts.

“They’re exactly the type of people I was hoping would take over the space,” Kahn said.

The Johndrows spent a year looking for commercial space to open their cafe and immediately took a liking to the Cup and Top. “The building is so cozy,” Kitty said.

After staying at home with her children while they were young, Kitty went back to school to become a dietitian. “I’m a food-first person and believe it brings people together,” she said.

The Cup and Top Cafe will serve its final cups of coffee and smoothies on Thursday, July 20. Main Street storefront will close for several weeks to allow the Johndrows to convert the space into the Freckled Fox Cafe.

While the name will change, both buyer and seller of the space say the cafe’s mission will remain the same: to offer a welcoming space for food and drink.