Maria Station Cafe to Open June 22nd at Gloucester City Train Station

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Maria Station Cafe is coming to the historic Gloucester City Train Station on Monmouth Street. They have announced their Grand Opening date of Saturday June 22^nd.

Details online show them as a Latin American restaurant which will be open from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM every day serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Cafe interior images shared last year at their Facebook page show wall graphics featuring “Macchiato” and “Espresso” letting us know that breakfast and coffee will be a big part of the Maria’s Station Cafe experience!

The restaurant is a partnership between Johanna Vargas and Anthony Aponte who are two experienced South Jersey chefs who joined together to bring a new culinary experience to Gloucester City!

They will also offer full catering services from pick up to delivery and setup at your location!

Currently they’ve shared online their take-out menu which includes a variety of Latin American dishes including grilled chicken, steak, pork, fish filets, plantains, salads and more!

But with breakfast also in the plans, this doesn’t appear to be the full menu just yet.

I’ve reached out to the team at their social media channels but we haven’t had an opportunity to chat yet.. but it seems Joanna and Anthony have started the big push social media push to let folks know about their upcoming opening… and I wanted to let 42Freeway readers aware of this exciting new Gloucester City restaurant.

Follow along with Maria Street Café at their Facebook or Instagram profiles for the latest updates!

Maria Station Café – Gloucester City Train Station

According to a 1996 Gloucester City redevelopment document, the Monmouth Street train station traces its history back to 1885, when it served as the central passenger and freight rail terminal for Gloucester city!

A Courier-Post article from 30 years ago says that in the early 1900s the second floor of the train station served as the living quarters for the station agent and his family!

For several decades now the station has had several restaurant uses including the GC Train Station Café… which had a full bar when it was open about 10 years ago!

The former train station is located at the railroad tracks (of course!) at the Monmouth Street intersection. It’s a great location literally in the center of town, close to Broadway to the West and the Gloucester City baseball fields at Johnson Boulevard to the East.

Since last year the train station has featured the Maria Station signage, letting the community know they were coming soon!

Inside, it appears the train station will have an all new interior which blends the historic train station elements with an attractive modern touch.

As mentioned, Maria Station Café is a partnership between Johanna and Anthony.

According to the Favorite Chef website, Johanna grew up in the Dominican Republic and at 18 she came to the USA with her family.

Having worked at a family bakery since 12, when Johanna arrived in the USA she attended Culinary School for baking and then returned for more training in Culinary Arts.

She has been working in area restaurants all these years and is excited to be able to focus on her new Gloucester City restaurant.

Anthony knew he needed a change and in his mid-20s his work at Camden’s Cathedral Kitchen turned into a new life for him, where he learned culinary skills which propelled him to being the Cathedral Kitchen chef.

In 2021 he moved on to start his own restaurant business, a food truck.

With this next step as a partner in Maria’s Station Café, Anthony has solid ground in a kitchen he can call home.

Be sure to follow Maria Station Café on Social Media. I’ll be back to try them out when the open… and share the experience with 42Freeway readers!