A new café venture will debut at the Codman Square Winter Farmer’s Market this month, and then pivot to opening a kiosk stand next to Shawmut Station in February.

The announcement came during the Codman Square Neighborhood Council meeting on Jan. 3, an in-person and online hybrid meeting that kicked off 2024 for the group. Chair Cynthia Loesch-Johnson announced that the House of Seven Café would be running a pop-up coffee, tea, and café during the Codman Square Winter Farmer’s Market, which opens on Jan. 27 inside the Great Hall at Codman Square.

Owner Tamicka Brown said she was excited to bring her café pop up to the Winter Market with soups, sandwiches, coffees, and teas alongside the vendors on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Brown also announced that she would be opening her café temporarily in February at the former Farmer’s Market kiosk next to Shawmut Station, which is officially on Epiphany School property. It will serve coffee, teas, holistic teas, and other items yet to be determined each weekday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Things are still being worked out with the city, but Brown said she hopes to be up and running by early February.

“This will be our grand opening for setting up in Codman Square until we can get a location in a brick-and-mortar store there,” she told meeting attendees.

Said Epiphany School Director John Finley, “We at Epiphany are delighted about the House of Seven Café. It will be a huge asset in the neighborhood, and our community will do everything we can to help it succeed.”

The Market, run by Richard Scott, expects to have local vendors, baked goods, meat purveyors, and fruits and vegetables from Riverdale Farms.

• Holmes details budget cuts – He delivered some shocking news to those at the meeting in saying that he expected Gov. Healey to make mid-year state budget cuts – known as 9C cuts – very soon. This, he said, means that several earmarks and budget items secured for local organizations might not come through. “We are $600 million down from where we should be and there might be 9C cuts,” he said. “The governor has to align the budget.”

Holmes said he has received phone calls from organizations in the neighborhood that got earmarks in June 2023 but haven’t gotten paid yet. Many had already spent the money or conducted the programming and were waiting for the state to submit reimbursements. Those payments, he said, might not come.

The last time mid-year 9C cuts were utilized was under former Gov. Deval Patrick, and prior to him under former Gov. Mitt Romney.

Holmes said the State Budget next year will be a huge challenge. “Next year’s budget at the state level will be one of the first challenges we’ve had in a long time,” he noted.

• From three-decker to six-family – The owners of 61 Lithgow St. were before the council as one of the first to convert their traditional three-decker into a six-family building by dividing the existing units down the middle.

Owner Bierina Idrizi said she and her brother live there with their parents and operate a construction company. For some time, they’ve rented out one of the units while living in the other two but haven’t got the desired tenants – noting that short-term students seem to be the only tenants that respond.

They have five parking spaces in the backyard and that won’t change, but they will demolish an old garage building for better access. All the new units would be around 850 square feet on average and would be two-bedrooms. There was no opposition at the council or in abutters meetings.

•Worrell is City Council vice chair – Brian Worrell reported to the meeting that he had been chosen as the vice chair of the City Council this year – effectively the second in command behind Council President Ruthzee Louijeune. He noted that a pilot program run last year regarding snow removal has now become part of permitting. The program changes how snow is removed from city and state properties by focusing on high-traffic pedestrian areas first. That results in quicker removal at stations like Ashmont and Shawmut Stations – and hopefully at business districts in Codman Square.

• A state Senate candidacy – Juwan Skeens, a member of the Redefining Our Community (ROC) neighborhood group, announced that he would be running for state Senate in the First Suffolk District this year – a seat now held by Nick Collins. Skeens ran for city council at-large last year as a write-in after not getting signatures required to get on the City Election ballot.
The Council will meet next at the Great Hall and on Zoom Feb. 7 at 7 p.m.