Walk into Fern & Fossil Café, and the first thing you notice isn’t just the coffee—it’s the feeling. Calm. Warm. Intentional. As you’ve stepped into a small oasis tucked inside Newark, where plants soften the edges, music hums at a reasonable volume, and time slows down just enough for you to breathe.

That atmosphere is no accident.

Behind the counter—and behind nearly every detail of the space—is Samantha Katehis, owner, founder, operator, designer, and, as she freely admits with a laugh, someone who opened a coffee shop without ever having made an espresso drink beforehand.

“I didn’t take a traditional route,” Katehis says. “I come from industrial design.”

From Boredom to Building

Katehis’s path to Fern & Fossil starts long before coffee. Growing up partly in Queens and later Newark, she was a self-described “crafty kid”—drawing, building, making things, often simply because there wasn’t much else to do.

“We didn’t have constant technology. You had to fill the space somehow.”

That instinct—to solve problems, to make something with intention—led her to study industrial design, a field rooted in systems, function, and detail. It also shaped how she thinks about spaces, not just objects.

“Design feels second nature to me,” she says. “There’s a level of critical thinking and attention to detail that carries into everything I do.”

Her design education took her far beyond Newark. While earning her graduate degree at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, Katehis participated in a three-way exchange program with institutions in London and Japan, living and studying abroad and collaborating across time zones. Those global experiences subtly influence Fern & Fossil’s aesthetic today—calm, restrained, thoughtful, never flashy.

Why a Coffee Shop?

Fern & Fossil officially began in 2018, not as a café, but as a series of pop-up terrarium workshops. Katehis was making plant-based goods—terrarium kits, seed-paper products, small handmade items—and eventually opened a modest storefront to support that work.

Coffee came later.

“I wanted another revenue stream that made sense,” she explains. “And a plant café just felt right.”

When an opportunity opened at Makerhoods in Newark—an incubator that supports small, locally made businesses—Katehis decided to take a leap. One corner unit was always intended to be a coffee shop. She applied, got the space, and said yes… even though she admits she had no real idea what she was getting into.

“I had food service experience,” she says, “but coffee shops are very specific. I had never steamed milk. Never made an espresso drink.”

What followed was equal parts design project, crash course, and personal reckoning. Around the same time, a long-term relationship ended unexpectedly, leaving Katehis to decide whether to walk away or move forward alone.

“I could either wonder ‘what if,’ or I could try,” she says. “So I tried.”

She took out a small business loan, designed and installed much of the space herself, leaned on friends, hired help where necessary, and built Fern & Fossil Café piece by piece.

“It was a leap of faith,” she says. “But a collective one.”

A Space That Simply Exists—for You

Fern & Fossil hasn’t even been open a full year yet, but it’s already earning quiet praise for something deceptively simple: existing.

“There isn’t a lot of foot traffic here,” Katehis explains. “Most people find us online. But people are excited that we’re here at all.”

For Katehis, the café’s purpose goes beyond coffee sales.

“I wanted to create something serene and beautiful,” she says. “Growing up in Newark, there weren’t a lot of spaces like that. Why not Newark? Why shouldn’t people be able to walk in off the street and just sit in a beautiful place?”

You don’t have to buy anything to stay. Most people do—but that’s not the point.

“People deserve good design,” she says. “They deserve calm.”

The Real Work Behind the Counter

Running a coffee shop, Katehis is quick to point out, is harder than it looks.

“Staffing is hard. Advertising is hard,” she says. “It’s not enough to just exist.”

Being slightly off the main street means Fern & Fossil has to work harder to be seen. Social media helps, but it’s not magic.

“People engage more when I show my face,” Katehis admits. “But when you’re running a business, sometimes you’re exhausted and don’t feel camera-ready. That’s part of the job you don’t think about.”

Then there are the costs no one warns you about—like heating a café during a brutal Newark winter.

“I didn’t fully grasp what it would cost to keep this place warm,” she says. “A $400 power bill hits hard when margins are already thin.”

Still, one thing is non-negotiable.

“Staff gets paid. Always,” Katehis says. “I can wait. They can’t.”

Coffee, Plants, and Thoughtful Choices

While some still associate Fern & Fossil primarily with terrarium workshops, Katehis wants people to know the café takes its coffee seriously.

“We have excellent coffee,” she says. “It’s not secondary.”

She chose her roaster and supplier carefully, prioritizing quality, equipment support, and consistency—critical factors for a small operation learning on the fly. Pastries come from Teixeira’s Bakery, a Newark institution and neighbor in the Ironbound.

“They make my life easier,” Katehis says. “And customers love them.”

Sustainability also plays a role, even if it’s a work in progress. Fern & Fossil avoids plastic straws, uses coco coir for planting, favors paper products, and offers plantable seed-paper items.

“We do what we can,” Katehis says. “As we grow and become more stable, we’ll do more.”

What Success Looks Like Now

Ask Katehis what success looks like, and the answer is refreshingly honest.

“At first, success was just opening the doors,” she says. “Now? It’s being profitable. Keeping the lights on.”

And that’s exactly what she’s working toward in 2026.

What’s Next at Fern & Fossil

Two big dates are coming up.

On February 14, 2026, Fern & Fossil will host its Valentine’s Terrarium Workshop (6–8 p.m.), open to couples, friends, or solo attendees. Guests build their own terrarium, complete with Valentine-themed details and a rose quartz heart. Early bird tickets start at $58, and last year’s event sold out.

Then, on March 4, 2026, Fern & Fossil will finally celebrate its grand opening, paired with its one-year anniversary. Expect a ribbon cutting, free coffee, terrarium activities, music, and an after-work dance party—with support from local sponsors and organizations.

“We never really had a grand opening,” Katehis says. “This feels like the right time.”

A Quiet Anchor in the Neighborhood

Fern & Fossil Café isn’t trying to be loud. It’s not trying to be a party. It’s trying to be something rarer: a steady, thoughtful space where people can work, think, meet, or simply sit.

“I want people to feel calm when they walk in,” Katehis says.

In a city that’s constantly moving, Fern & Fossil offers something radical in its simplicity—a place to pause, surrounded by plants, good coffee, and beautiful design that respects the people who walk through the door.

Fern & Fossil Café: Where Design, Coffee, and Calm Come Together in Newark