#91 - Have A 'Nightmare' In This Dream-Like Place

Assorted vintage furniture, eclectic decor and the sweet smell of espresso, tea and homemade brownies greets you when you enter the in West Hempstead.

While most coffee shops are aimed at serving up drinks to go and getting you out fast, the owners of the Witches Brew have created a place where friends and families can come to unwind and spend some time together. That's why it made our list of the Top 100 Things to do in Malverne and West Hempstead.

When you step inside you feel as if you've entered another a world, a dream. It's that of sisters Alabama and Natalie Miceli, artists who opened the coffee house in April 1996 when they were in their twenties.

One a fashion designer and the other a photographer, they had no business expertise, but they had always been hard workers, creative and had a passion for brewed beverages.

Growing up, they were a bit nomadic, following their dad, a famous jockey across the country, but as they moved from place to place, they remembered their mother taking them to many coffee houses.  They aspired to have one of their own some day and when an abandoned building on Hempstead Turnpike caught their eye 16 years ago, they had a vision.

In only a few months, with the help of over 20 talented friends, they transformed the nearly 100-year old, decrepit building into something beautiful. They dressed it up with mismatched furniture, leopard print wallpaper, and a mix of holiday lights and Halloween decorations. Nothing matched and yet everything seemed to come together perfectly. Before long they had somewhat of a cult following with teens from the area, but over the years their clientele has become increasingly diverse.

In the day, it's common to see students studying in a corner chair, seniors chatting around a coffee table or young families huddled on their favorite sofa, while enjoying the delectable drinks and baked treats.

Then, at night the dimly lit Victorian home takes on a haunted but trendy vibe as it buzzes again with young adults, mainly college students who consider it a nice alternative to the bar scene. They enjoy a different sort of brew, sipping instead on fun espresso concoctions like the Voodoo (vanilla- marshmallow) and the Nightmare (chocolate-peanut butter-caramel) and over 85 different teas. They also indulge in freshly baked treats, including many vegan options.

"Everything is either baked here or within a five-mile radius," said Natalie Miceli sisters. "We encourage people to shop local."

While many businesses have left West Hempstead, the Witches Brew still continues to thrive, celebrating their 16th year this month. Despite the fact that the owners have never advertised, created a Web site or embraced the social networking phenomenon, their fans have put them on the map, creating a Witches Brew Facebook page now "liked" by over 6,600 people.

"These people keep us in business," said Danny Fink, Miceli's boyfriend for 17-years and father to their 1-year-old daughter. "They become life-long customers."

As a result, the owners and staff have watched many of their customers grow up. Just as the sisters have changed, starting their own families, the teenagers who hung out regularly in the nineties are now adults and bring their young children with them when they come to share the experience. Kids who came dressed in goth over a decade ago now stop in wearing suits to pick up their favorite teas.

What keeps them coming back? "It's timeless...it doesn't get old," Fink says.

Miceli adds that it's also the relationships that they have developed over the years.

"Everyone gets comfortable with us quickly," she says. "It has that family feeling."

She admits that when she opened the shop with her sister at the age of 21 she expected it would last only a few years and they'd move onto something else, but she became very attached.

 "It got a good hold over us...we're here even when we're not working," she says.  "This place has become a second home for a lot of people."