MoJo's Cafe & Gallery in Troy officially opened on Sunday, February 4. The combination cafe, music venue, and art gallery is located in the former Superior Merchandise space at 147 4th Street.
TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- MoJo's Cafe & Gallery in Troy officially opened on Sunday, February 4. The combination cafe, music venue, and art gallery is located in the former Superior Merchandise space at 147 4th Street.
Husband and wife duo Alana and Niek Velvis are both musicians and owned a recording studio in Denver before moving to Troy in July 2023. Niek previously lived in the Albany area.
"We really connected with Troy," said Alana. "Because his family's here and since having our daughter, we wanted her to grow up around family. We checked out a lot of places around here and just really fell in love with the energy of Troy."
"When we saw this space, it really spoke to us and we realized we could do a small venue," said Niek. "We could combine the art, the music, and then the cafe was born." You can see some photos of MoJo's in the video player above.
The cafe menu includes coffee, espresso, house-made cold brew, tea, sodas, and non-alcoholic cider. As for food, they currently have cupcakes from The Cakerino, a vegan bakery, and food items from O'Malley's Oven, both in Troy.
"We'll be expanding upon that and be able to offer more savory options in the coming weeks," said Alana.
As of right now, all the art hanging in the cafe is from New Orleans-based artist Frenchy, who mainly focuses on painting musicians live while they are performing. All the art in the gallery is for sale, with both the originals and prints being available.
"We very much connect with his art being musicians and having an appreciation for the New Orleans flavor," said Alana.
"Once we really become intimately familiar with the local art scene and meet local artists, we're absolutely looking forward to having some local art as well," said Niek.
MoJo's includes a stage near the back for live performances, which are only happening on Saturdays from noon to 2 p.m. right now, said Niek. They are going to start adding evening shows toward the end of March and in April.
In April, MoJo's will also have some intimate, ticketed events for national touring bands making their way through the area. Niek said they'll have these ticketed events as well as free weekly music events.
Currently, MoJo's Cafe & Gallery is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and open at 9 a.m. on Sundays. Once their liquor license is approved, the Velvis' will start to expand the hours and be able to serve beer, wine, and cider.
Troy Art Block, located behind MoJo's Cafe inspired them, said Niek. There's a carriage house behind the building that they are hoping to rehabilitate to contribute to live music events on the block.
"We absolutely want to continue with the momentum that we see on this block from other businesses," said Niek. "Keep going with the momentum of making Troy the place where people come in the Capital District for art, for music."
