Tag Archives: Travel

Small Businesses Hold Princeton’s Hearts

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By Ximena Garcia

A temple-like wooden structure decorated with fairy lights hangs over neatly placed, color-coded goods: candles, books, bowls and plates. A white cat sits in the center, greeting each customer with a cheeky smile beneath a sign that reads: MIYA TABLE & HOME.

“It’s so pretty,” said Heidi Moon, the owner of Miya Table & Home, pointing out the structure. “We thought that it looked very much like a temple, and the Chinese character for Miya actually means shrine or temple.”

Miya Table & Home is a local business in Princeton, New Jersey, selling Japanese tableware and gifts. After introducing their goods to Princeton with a pop-up shop, Miya Table & Home opened a permanent store in April 2018. Through their struggles, the store remained consistent with what made Princeton fall in love with them in the first place: their authenticity. 

95% of Miya Table & Home’s products are imported from Japan. With the help of an agent, they select the items best catered to their tastes. It is crucial for them to select products based on what they genuinely enjoy instead of what is popular in Japan.   

“I think over the years we’ve kind of developed a certain eye for it and we have a certain aesthetic and we never get anything we don’t like,” Moon said. “We don’t get pressured into getting something that we don’t like just because somebody says it does well.” 

This philosophy extends to other businesses in Princeton. French restaurant Kristine’s prioritizes granting their clients a true taste of French dining. Founding chef Nicolas Démurgé upholds this mission by ensuring that every aspect of the restaurant, especially the menu, adds to the culinary experience. 

“When you open a French restaurant abroad, you know if you have a burger on your menu, you are going to sell more burgers than classic Frenchies. You don’t want to go too much into this direction because at one point you are going to lose your identity,” he said. “At one point, I took off, for example, the burger on the menu because I was selling it way too much. That’s not the experience we want. You can get a burger everywhere.” 

Named after Démurgé’s daughter and mother, Kristine’s opened in November 2019, offering an assortment of French-influenced dishes such as jambalaya. At Kristine’s, prepping these dishes requires the chefs to look beyond the seasonings and craft an impactful moment for the client. 

“Food, it’s about culture more than about skills. It’s about memories. You have awesome dishes from your grandmother, your mom, and your friends. It’s a part of yourself because it’s some strong memories of flavors. And you can remember some flavor forever. It’s so impressive,” said Démurgé. 

JaZams, a toy and book store in Princeton, values nostalgia, too. Customers are greeted by a wall of endless LEGO sets, the fluffy stuffed animals and vibrant assortment of toys. Co-owner Joanne Farrugia smiles wide as she explains the process that goes into choosing the toys they sell. Analogous to Miya Table & Home, Farrugia states that they are intentional with each toy and book they place on their shelves. Their care has continuously rewarded them by placing them ahead of consumer trends, allowing them to serve Princeton with a reliable stock for in-demand products. 

For example, when Sonny Angels gained popularity, other retailers struggled to carry them. This wasn’t the case for JaZams. 

“When it became really, really hot, we had all these great connections with our manufacturers, so that we were able to still carry it,” Farrugia said. “When a new store would come in and say ‘We want that because it’s hot and it’s selling,’ they would be like, ‘No, we don’t have enough.’ So in these cases, that really served us well.” 

Each of these businesses’ efforts to deliver quality goods and experiences to Princeton has undoubtedly won them many fans. The love is reciprocated through community collaboration and engagement. 

Miya Table & Home has hosted events with the Arts Council of Princeton, including a New Year’s social in which the community painted figures that held cultural significance. 

Kristine’s partners with non-profits. They currently have an upcoming event with The Blue Bears Special Meals, a non-profit for individuals with special needs. Supporting local organizations he aligns with is one of Démurgé’s favorite parts of the job.

JaZams has also given back to the community in various ways. Most recently, they celebrated their thirty-year anniversary with the Princeton community by providing a carousel and free carnival games. 

“Our mission is always to make everything accessible, for all families, no matter their economic status,” said Farrugia. “That way, they can come with a whole bunch of kids and they can play.” 

Small World, Big Heart

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By Hazel Foster

In a world of Amazon ads, Target consumerism and cycles of planned obsolescence, small businesses may seem few and far between. A quick stroll through Princeton, New Jersey shows the opposite. 

In Miya Table & Home, located on Palmer Square W, a wooden, temple-shaped structure in the center of the store holds delicate glassware in shades of navy and cream. The small shop is the single brick and mortar location of Miya Inc., a family-owned wholesale business founded in 1947. The store tested the waters with a holiday pop-up in 2017 before opening their doors in a permanent location in Princeton the following April. It didn’t take much to draw people in. “It was a lot of word of mouth,” said Heidi Moon, the store’s director of sales, marketing and retail. From matcha bowls and tableware painted with cats to sleek notebooks, each item has been carefully selected and displayed by Moon herself. “We make buying trips to Japan twice a year and we go visit factories or we go to different ceramic shows and we curate,” she said. “We select the items that we think would be able to sell well in the U.S.” The result is a retail experience that perfectly encapsulates the intentionality of Japanese design. 

Just a couple blocks over on Witherspoon Street, another establishment seeks to transport its visitors (or at least their taste buds) abroad. At Kristine’s, founding and executive chef Nicholas Démurgé has curated a menu that brings French cuisine to New Jersey. Démurgé earned a degree in engineering and went to business school before becoming a chef. When it came to Kristine’s, he was in the right place at the right time. “The owner wanted to open a French restaurant for years and years and years. It’s hard to build a restaurant without a chef,” he said. “I was hired one year before we opened.” Thankfully, the construction took so long that he had time to work on the menu. Démurgé’s menu is diverse, but he stays true to his roots. If a non-French dish is selling too much, they remove it from the menu. You can get a burger anywhere, but an authentic croque-ratatouille is a little harder to find. 

Travel back to Palmer Square and take a trip down memory lane to a world of words and fun from the bygone days of Toys R Us. But unlike Toys R Us, jaZams is still here. Founder and co-owner Joanne Farrugia is celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the eclectic toy store, which sells trendy toys at a fair price. Farrugia initially intended to become a teacher before changing course. A trip to a friend’s aunt’s toy and bookstore in 1990 inspired her to open a store of her own in 1996. Like the home goods at Miya Table & Home and the menu at Kristine’s, jaZams has been thoughtfully curated. “Every picture book we carry, we read,” she said. They read advance copies, galleys, and e-books, and visit trade shows. For Farrugia, there’s no real sense of competition between businesses in Princeton. “Most of us who are in business together are very, very close,” she said. 

Whether it’s a Japanese zodiac dragon figurine, a French affogato, or a whimsical lava lamp disco ball on the shelf or the table, community is what drives business and brings Princeton together. 

Whether or not you’re interested in revisiting your childhood memories of colorful toy stores, expanding your heart and home to the Japanese culture or giving yourself a taste of France, community is what drives business and brings Princeton together.

Two Sides of the Same Coin: Princeton’s Independent Businesses Put Customer Service First

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By Ashanty R.

The heartbeat of Princeton started in a U-Store parking lot.

For five years, Barry Weisfield bounced between flea markets and college towns, selling records and vinyl from orange crates in his Chevy van. After rolling into Princeton, his van became a community staple, drawing keen ears to the Princeton University Store.

Always on the road, Weisfield laid his heart on Princeton’s streets and couldn’t leave it behind. In 1980, he parked his roots for good, opening the Princeton Record Exchange Store (PREX) on South Tulane Street, a charming cobblestone path off Nassau Street.

Princeton’s location—neatly between New York and Philadelphia—played a role in his decision, offering prime potential for customers. But it was Weisfield’s devotion to customer service that made PREX stand out. He believed the staff should cater to the community, rather than the other way around.

Unlike big-box retailers, PREX emphasizes connection. Staff aren’t just told to sell records—they’re there to make everyone feel welcome, whether first-timers or long-time collectors. Questions are met with enthusiasm, record requests are taken seriously, and the space is decorated for comfort rather than flash.

When Jon Lambert took over in 2015, after years as general manager and close friend to Weisfield, he kept that ethos while adding his own touches. Inside, handwritten canary-yellow tags label the genres, and DIY record dividers keep the vibe simple and accessible.

Overlapping LCD record covers, Vanity Fair spreads of Randy Newman, Ozzy Osbourne concert posters, and artful band collages give the convenience-store–styled building a lived-in charm.

Lambert’s goal is clear: make people want to stay. And they do.

“You know, if you have a business, they [Google] tell you the average length of stay, for people in that organization, and we’re about an hour,” Lambert says with reserved pride. “I think that really speaks to how much people enjoy being there as an event.”

His attention doesn’t stop at décor or inventory—it extends to his hiring.

“I’m pretty picky about picking,” Lambert jokes. He’s less concerned with stacked resumes in the arts and more focused on personality, lived experiences, and values that align with PREX’s mission: to be courteous, kind, and obliging.

He asks potential hires questions like: “What does integrity mean to you?” “How do you live your life?” and “Is it an internal code of ethics or external?”

Lambert sees his staff as an extension of PREX’s promise to Princeton’s community, even when he’s not there. “Those are the things I care about,” he concludes.

Just around the corner, another independent business echoes that sentiment. Labyrinth Books, co-founded by Virginia Harabin, Pete and Cliff Simms, and the late Dorothea von Moltke, serves as a haven for Princeton’s book lovers.

“It’s a place for travelers, it’s a place for locals,” Harabin says.

Labyrinth intentionally sought a large footprint to serve as both a bookstore and a gathering place—though Harabin admits that decision “might have cost [them] a little something in terms of warmth.” Still, thoughtful touches—a cluster of chairs here, a soft rug there, fairy lights strung from the basement ceiling—create cozy pockets for connection.

“I hope that before too long we’ll be able to do something like put a carpet on this floor,” Harabin reflects. “Maybe a different kind of seating area with some softer chairs. I’m emphasizing change and development.”

Warmth at Labyrinth doesn’t just come from décor, but also from decorum. Like at PREX, the staff help create a hub where curiosity meets enthusiasm. Customers openly approach staff, make requests, and linger for informal conversation.

“Somebody comes in and says, ‘Do you have this?’ I look it up; I don’t have it. But I want to have it. I should have it,” Harabin says. “I’m gonna get one for you, but I’m gonna get one for the store too.”

While one caters to sound and the other to story, Princeton Record Exchange and Labyrinth Books share a philosophy: go beyond inventory and revenue. They resist the transactional coldness of big-box commerce, instead valuing personality, conversation, and time spent.

In a town shaped by prestige and tourism, these independent businesses are grounded in cobblestone charm and built on meaningful exchanges. They are more than local commerce—they are the essence of local care, beating steadily under every path.

A summer course in adulthood

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By Nathan Phan

Illustration by Nathan Phan

By Saintra Thai
San Bernardino, Calif.

With a knapsack on my back, an over-sized suitcase by my side and a plane ticket in my hand, I was ready to go on an epic adventure.

I was at the time a sophomore in high school, and at the encouragement of my brother, I had decided to apply to Harvard University’s Secondary Summer School Program. A few weeks later, I found myself jumping up and dancing out of my seat when I got the acceptance email. I was convinced that it was pure luck that I had been offered a spot in the summer program. But while I thought my dreams had come true, my journey was just beginning. Continue reading →

Leaving the nest and finding myself

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By Angela Kim
Valencia, Calif. 

Growing up, I was encouraged by my parents to “leave the nest” and experience as much as I could, but I was always overwhelmed by how big the world was. I was overwhelmed by the entirety of people, places and experiences the world had to offer, but also nervous about being away from home. So when I was accepted into the Princeton University Summer Journalism Program this spring, I felt ambivalent.

I left Los Angeles with unease, but once I met other students from the program boarding my plane, my apprehension gradually disappeared. I was now shaking with anticipation: I wondered what kind of people I would meet and what the East Coast would be like. Continue reading →