Brewing Connection

For RONA LEVIN and MELISSA CEDENO, Matter More Coffee is more than just a coffee shop venture. The duo is working to build a place that encourages connections and meaningful engagement in the Hampstead community. 

“It has been amazing getting to know our customers on a personal level,” says co-owner Levin. “We have also been lucky to find and inherit some amazing team members that really are a part of living out our vision and values daily.” 

Cedeno says a welcoming atmosphere is important to her. “Some people are looking for a space where they can be face-to-face with someone else and get away from the digital world and computers, and we want Matter More to be a space for that,” she says. “We put board games out, … but at the same time, if you want to come here and work, you can do that too. We also want to be that space where you can host a networking event.” 

New York bagels are on the menu along with a variety of drinks and baked goods, but Levin and Cedeno also offer customers a taste of Italy and the Mediterranean.  

“We are trying to work toward more of a European, Italian-style café in the beverage offerings and the food items,” says Levin, adding they switched to an Italian coffee brand soon after purchasing the shop at the start of this year and have received positive feedback.    

Levin, born and raised in Israel before coming to the U.S. as a teen, lived in New Jersey before moving to the Hampstead area about five years ago. Cedeno moved to Hampstead from Miami in 2023.  

In June 2024, Cedeno went online to find some exercise buddies. “I posted in the Hampstead mom’s Facebook group a picture of my garage gym, and I said I was looking for fellow moms to work out with me because I needed the accountability,” she says.  

Levin showed up, and soon time spent together extended beyond exercise.  “We became friends and not just workout buddies,” Cedeno says. “We became best friends.” 

Levin spent years working in the corporate world and last year began mulling owning a storefront business. She says she felt Cedeno would be the ideal business partner. Cedeno, whose husband, AMADO, recently opened an audio visual and lighting business, says she was eager to get on board. They finalized the purchase of Matter More in January.   

With no prior experience with coffee, beyond drinking it and making it at home, Levin and Cedeno say they have been learning a lot on their new journey. “Everything is ‘figure-out-able’,” Cedeno says. “We dug deep and fully immersed ourselves in what it takes to run a coffee shop, and as high-achieving women do, we dug in and said, ‘We got this!’”   

“Most of the things we encountered, I did expect, but I did not anticipate for it to be so rewarding and personally satisfying,” says Levin. “The outpouring of support and the community has been phenomenal.” 

The pair values involvement in their community, fostering connections, and engaging with customers. “We’re always thinking what can we do for the community … how do we give back to the community,” Levin says.  

Matter More Coffee provides free delivery to teachers at local public schools and conducts school fundraisers by serving coffee to parents waiting in the car lines during morning drop-offs. 

The coffee shop also serves as a place for various community groups and local business leaders to gather. On Thursdays, Matter More Coffee hosts about a dozen local business owners from Renovation Church who meet to discuss various business topics, including how to conduct business with integrity and make an impact on the community.  

Levin and Cedeno also keep active social media accounts, offer free drink giveaways, and make efforts to incorporate customers’ feedback into their business operations. For example, they hosted a tasting event to help decide the summer menu.  

They have introduced items such as limonana, a Mediterranean mint lemonade; a locally baked sourdough focaccia bread made with rosemary and olive oil served with Sicilian Castelvetrano olives; and a Mediterranean avocado bagel, featuring organic olive oil, za’atar, avocado with zesty lemon, and pink Himalayan salt.   

 Levin and Cedeno say the personal connection they feel with their fellow community members and the ability for customers to directly share ideas is part of the value of having a locally owned coffee shop. 

They have several community projects they want to introduce in the future, and they say they’re happy to be on this business journey together.  

“It’s been amazing to do this with Melissa,” Levin says, “and I’m very grateful to have her.” 

To view more of photographer Daria Amato’s work, go to dariaphoto.com

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