TANNERSVILLE — Deja Brew Bakery and Cafe is not your average coffee shop.
Owned by husband-and-wife team Ismael “Ish” Villafane and Kimberly Villafane, the Main Street café offers an extensive selection of pastries, specialty sandwiches, and coffee drinks made with beans imported directly from Puerto Rico. It also serves Harney & Sons tea (produced in Hudson), slushies, locally made jewelry, crystals and polished stones, and Kimberly’s own line of beauty products.
The atmosphere is deliberately welcoming and relaxed, with an open floor plan that encourages customers to linger.
But perhaps more than anything else, the Villafanes say, Deja Brew is about community.
The couple opened Deja Brew in October 2024, after deciding to move from Norwich to Tannersville. The café occupies the building at 5980 Main St., where a pharmacy once operated. The Hunter Foundation owns the building and maintains three apartments upstairs — two two-bedroom apartments and one three-bedroom.
The move to Tannersville was inspired in part by Kimberly’s visit to the village during a previous Father’s Day Car Show. “She saw a vibrant community,” Ish said, and the couple ultimately decided to sell their Norwich shop and move to the mountaintop. When they were searching for a location, Hunter Foundation Executive Director Sean Mahoney showed them several buildings. “When my wife saw this place, she said, ‘This is it,’” Ish recalled.
The Villafanes began renovating the former pharmacy in June 2024 and opened four months later. “The [Hunter] Foundation was very gracious to us and said they would work with us and help us get Deja Brew open by October,” Ish said. Kimberly said she has a particular appreciation for the foundation. “I love the Hunter Foundation and what they stand for and how they support the community. The Hunter Foundation is all about community and working with people that need help.”
Mahoney said the foundation is equally pleased to have Deja Brew as a tenant.
“The Hunter Foundation is thrilled to have Deja Brew as part of the Tannersville community and as one of our Hunter Foundation tenants. One of the things we’re most proud of at the Foundation is creating opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs who bring something special to our community. Deja Brew is a perfect example of that. They’ve created a welcoming, vibrant space with incredible Puerto Rican coffee, baked goods, sweet treats, and great food. Still, just as importantly, they’ve brought a new energy and personality to Main Street. Seeing them embraced by both residents and visitors, and watching the business continue to grow, is exactly the kind of outcome we hope for as we invest in our downtown properties. We couldn’t be happier to have them here.”
The Villafanes’ journey to Tannersville has taken them through several states and countries.
Ish grew up outside San Juan, Puerto Rico, and attended the University of Puerto Rico before traveling to Indiana and Texas for graduate school. He later became principal at Riverside High School in Texas for a year before accepting a position with the Austin Independent School District. He and Kimberly eventually moved to Puerto Rico, where Ish worked as a superintendent for 4.5 years.
Ish has spent more than four decades working in school districts. He began his career in Texas teaching adaptive physical education. “I worked with students who were disabled or who were recovering from injuries and surgery.” Today, he is principal of Hunter-Tannersville Central School District’s Middle-High School, a position he has held since June 2023 — just steps from Deja Brew.
His workday begins early. Ish starts prepping at 5:30 a.m., then heads to school between 7 and 7:15 a.m., where he works until 4-4:30 p.m… and then walks down to Deja Brew. Before school, he makes sure the café is set up, the machines are clean, and the kitchen is stocked and ready. He said he enjoys both jobs and has become adept at compartmentalizing the two positions. Although Ish has less food-service experience than his wife, he has helped at all three of the couple’s coffee shops.
The first Deja Brew was opened in Norwich, where Ish served as the principal of BOCES for three years. While the family was searching for a name for the Norwich coffee shop, their daughter suggested “Deja Brew,” a playful nod to their former coffee shop in Guilderland. “We sold that business right before COVID hit,” Ish said. “We sold both of our stores,” Ish said.
Coffee is central to Deja Brew, and the Villafanes take particular pride in serving beans imported directly from Puerto Rico. The café uses Arabica beans and offers several Puerto Rican brands, including Café Don Pello, Café Lareño, Café Oro and Café Yaucono. “Our coffee has a very smooth taste,” Ish said.
During a visit to Puerto Rico, Ish’s nephew — who owns a restaurant — introduced him to Café Don Pello. “I really like it because it’s a strong coffee, but it tastes mild without the bitter taste,” Ish said. The coffee is shipped directly to Deja Brew, and the café goes through substantial quantities. Ish said they average 24 to 26 five-pound bags of whole-bean Café Don Pello and can go through as much as 40 pounds of coffee in two days. Orders from Puerto Rico typically arrive within two days. The couple says they think they are the only shop outside Puerto Rico serving Don Pello, which they import directly from the island.
For the Villafanes, serving Puerto Rican coffee is more than a business decision; it is a way of supporting and sharing the culture.
Kimberly said all of the café’s pastries are baked in-house, while every cup of coffee is freshly ground and brewed. One of the most popular drinks is the Caramel Macchiato. “It’s an espresso-based layered coffee drink using vanilla syrup, caramel sauce, and a choice of milk or milk substitute. Cafe Bombom is a typical drink from Puerto Rico made with sweetened condensed milk, equal parts of espresso and with a little bit of foam on top, if they want. We also serve Harney & Sons Tea exclusively, which is out of Hudson,” Kimberly said. The teas include names such as “Death on the Nile” and “Murder on the Orient Express.” Kimberly says she loves the names.
For children, Deja Brew has a popular slushie machine. “We use fruit puree instead of chemicals to sweeten and color the ice.” The café’s regular menu remains largely unchanged, Kimberly said, although employees recently created two new sandwiches. Kimberly has more than 20 years of experience in the food industry, although not continuously.
Deja Brew employs six full- and part-time workers, all of whom are local. Two are the Villafanes’ sons, Justin, 43, and Rene, 25. Justin said he has worked at Deja Brew since October. “I was living in Texas when Deja Brew opened, and after my mother begged me to, I came to help out.” He said the transition from Texas to the mountaintop was “easy.” He added, “There’s not as much to do, but I like it.”
Rene grew up in the Czech Republic with his mother and taught Kimberly how to make pernicky, a traditional Czech and Slovak spiced honey cookie. During the Christmas holidays, Deja Brew serves pernicky, traditionally made with honey, cinnamon, cloves, and anise and decorated with fine white sugar icing. Kimberly has roots in the Czech Republic, where the cookies are a common holiday treat.
The café’s offerings extend well beyond food and drinks. Kimberly has developed beauty products for both men and women. Her women’s line is called Kimberly Joan, while the men’s skincare line, El Guapo, includes Beard Butter, Beard Cleanser, Beard Conditioner, and facial cleansers. She has been making facial creams and soaps for 17 years. Kimberly also makes candles, although she says the process is too time-consuming to continue. Once the remaining candles are sold, she said, they are gone.
Deja Brew also sells crystals and polished stones, which Kimberly enjoys collecting, along with products from local artists, including Lovelinked Jewelry by Shannon. Kimberly also wire-wraps stones and makes jewelry herself.
The café even has a book exchange program — give a book, take a book — and accepts book donations.
However, opening the café was not without its challenges. Kimberly said Deja Brew was originally supposed to open earlier than October 2024, but an accident delayed the opening by 3-4 months. “I had an accident and broke my back,” she said. Then, in March, “I fell down the stairs and broke it again!”
The café also had to overcome a visibility problem. “When we first opened, people didn’t know we were here because we’re pretty hard to see,” Kimberly said. “We have trees blocking our sign.” Ish added, “We started slow, with many folks coming in thinking it was still a pharmacy.” That prompted the couple to put up a sign. “It took a while for people to realize we were open as a coffee shop – that’s when word-of-mouth really helped us.” Word of mouth eventually became one of the café’s biggest assets.
“We have a lot of local regulars,” Kimberly said.
She said the couple’s busiest months are generally summer through October, while business picks up again during ski season. “I had to learn the ebb and flow,” she said. Ish said the business has now reached a point where the couple no longer has to use their own money to keep it afloat. The café’s first customer was well-known local educator RitaMary Vining.
Deja Brew also offers catering, and Kimberly said, “We are expanding our catering menu and are currently updating our website. Up until a month ago, we only catered sandwiches — and hope to expand it to include salads, rice and beans, but it’s still underway.” Kimberly said customers helped keep the business afloat during its first year. “This year is much better.”
Ish said their number one priority before opening Deja Brew was to build a business that could survive with the support of the community. The café also donates food to the local food pantry when it can. “We want to be a part of the community. We’re here to stay. When I retire from school, this is where we’ll be. Even if one of our children takes over the business, we’ll still be here.”
The Villafanes offer customers a way to support the café while receiving a discount. Keychains can be purchased for $10 during mid-season and provide 20% off an order. “Come January, we’ll start over with a new keychain that costs $20 and gives customers 20% off the entire year,” Kimberly said. And first responders, active-duty military members, and veterans receive 10% off. Kimberly does not view other local businesses as competition. Instead, she sees them as part of the same community. She regularly directs customers to other shops when Deja Brew does not have what they are looking for. “We should work together as a community,” she said. “If a customer wants a Matcha, we’ll send them to Lucky Catskills just up the street because I was told they sell them.”
Lucky Catskills opened about a month after Deja Brew, in late November 2024.
Ish said Tannersville Deputy Mayor George Kelly has been one of the café’s biggest supporters.
“Deputy Mayor George Kelly is our number one PR guy. He has rooted for us from day 1. He’s always been very good to us and has had very good ideas. He also talks to everybody and sends people here all the time. The Mayor has also been very supportive.” Kelly said, “I advocated to bring local people into the fold who had a viable business plan. Mr Mahoney listened, and hence Ish and Kimberly have a wonderful business.” Kelly added, “I must say, Ish and Kimberly have created the quintessential coffee shop. We in Tannersville love that they have fresh pastries, great food, and help out our community with their warm and welcoming attitude.”
Both Villafanes visit Puerto Rico frequently, and Kimberly and Ish were there just last month, keeping those family ties close. Ish has many nieces and nephews, including two who are both Latin Grammy winners. His nephew was a member of the Latin Grammy-winning band Calle 13, which holds the record for the most Latin Grammy wins in history, with 21 awards. He continues to collaborate as a producer with well-known artists such as Bad Bunny. His niece, iLe, was also a member of Calle 13 before launching a successful solo career. Her debut solo album, iLevitable, was released in June 2016 and won the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album. She was also nominated for a Latin Grammy as Best New Artist. If you've watched El Chapo on Netflix, you've heard iLe's song “Vienen a Verme” during the opening credits. In 2020, iLe won a Latin Grammy for Best Alternative Song for “En Cantos,” featuring Natalia Lafourcade. Ish said it is not unusual to visit family in Puerto Rico and encounter celebrities such as Bad Bunny making music in the studio his nephew created in the house. Ish has been working with RitaMary Vining to bring iLe to the area for a performance.
The Puerto Rican connection is woven throughout Deja Brew, from its coffee to the family stories behind the counter. The Villafanes’ vision extends beyond Deja Brew, however. Ish said one of his dreams is to eventually open a Caribbean fusion restaurant. “If I did that, my wife would kill me!”
For now, the couple is focused on continuing to grow Deja Brew — expanding catering, serving Puerto Rican coffee and homemade food, supporting local artists and businesses, and remaining part of the community they chose as home.
