Mompreneurs in Jersey City

It is that time of the year again that we celebrate the amazing women out there who are also moms! Moms do so much every single day and adding the entrepreneur to their list proves how amazing they really are! These women own businesses in Jersey City and have grown them so much. Therefore, we wanted to feature Mom-Owned Businesses in Jersey City and Hoboken, and recognize Mompreneurs who are balancing everything so beautifully. Happy Mother’s Day!

Daniela Sarbu of Cafe Esme & The Waldo School

Daniela is the founder of  The Waldo School in Jersey City and owner of french cafe Cafe Esme. Café Esme — a French word meaning esteemed or beloved is actually Daniela’s daughter’s name. Cafe Esme is a warm and friendly café in downtown Jersey City. Serving tasty, healthy food, and expertly-roasted coffee. They are also known for their fresh refreshing juices. As for World of ABC, it is located in the heart of the Jersey City Waterfront. World of ABC, The Waldo School sets the standard for leading private education, adopting and developing a highly innovative curriculum, the students are encouraged to explore and flourish while discovering and developing new talents.

Dorota Mani of Cafe Peanut & Academy of Excellence

Dorota Mani is the owner of Cafe Peanut and founder of Academy of Excellence. Cafe Peanut is a “funky little place” that services salads, sandwiches, soups, pastries, and artisan coffees and teas. Their specialty drinks include lattes flavored with lavender, Nutella, rosewater, Chai tea, matcha, charcoal, or ginger turmeric, among other options. She is a mom of two beautiful girls. Dorota Mani has led the Academy of Excellence for over ten years now in the same location, as a director. Her two beautiful daughters were the inspiration and driving force, behind this exciting educational endeavor. Though her children are now moving into middle school and high school, she takes pride in continuing to foster a love for learning in our JCT youngest community, who continue to attend her academically acclaimed school

Nicole Cannon of Sleepy Mama

Prior to starting Sleepy Mama, Nicole worked as a nanny, babysitter, and baby planner for several years. It was during this time that she started to understand the importance of sleep for both babies and their parents and knew she needed to learn more. In September 2012 she took the Maternity and Child Sleep Consultant Course through the International Maternity Institute and now is a member of the Association of Professional Sleep Consultants. She is a mom of three boys and one girl!

Sherry Singh of Smile Preschool and Colors of Autism

Founder of Smile Preschool & Nursery on First Street— has been a fixture in the community in the two decades that her school has been in existence. But what many people don’t know is that as she’s built her business, the mom of three has simultaneously fought a battle for autism awareness in honor of her middle son, Ravinder, 30, known to everyone as Ravi. Colors of Autism and Smile with Smile Preschool for Autism Awareness is committed to raising public awareness about (ASD) autism spectrum disorders through education and community outreach. We are dedicated to helping families and lessening their isolation as well as ensuring that all individuals with autism receive appropriate, effective services to maximize their growth potential and to enhance the general public’s awareness of autism.

Eshoe of Photography by Eshoe

Eshoe is a mother of two boys! She is the owner of Photography by Eshoe.Her interest in photography piqued from having nephews and of course even more after having her son, Sean. She wanted to make sure she captured these important phases of our lives. Eshoe does newborn and maternity photography, family photography as well as commercial work. She recently opened her studio in Jersey City.

Miss Megan of Batelle Sleep School

Miss Megan is the owner of Batelle Sleep School. She is an expert in early child development, sleep, and conscious parenting. She has worked with children and has been a special needs, twin and triplets expert for over 20 years, a Montessori Directress and Baby Nurse for 15 years, and run 3 Montessori daycares. She has been a two-time surrogate (inc. a set of twins), and have two kids; Haiden (6.5yrs) and Hazel (5yrs).

Dr. Mila Cohen of True Dental Care for Kids & Teens

Dr. Mila Cohen, a mother of two, and a board-certified dentist is the owner of True Dental Care for Kids & Teens in Jersey City. As a young and fearful patient once, she became inspired to create a friendly, warm, and enjoyable experience for her patients. With all the training she has obtained to manage her craft, Dr. Mila is eager to make children feel that going to the kids’ dentist can be an enriching, fun, and enjoyable experience.

Dr. Mila provides dental care for children of all ages in the Jersey City area and has dedicated her professional career to tend to the specific needs of both child and parent who visit the facility.

Ruth Salas of Luna De Papel

Ruth is a mom of two daughters and is the owner of Luna De Papel in Jersey City. Luna de Papel, a beautiful crafting space that has become a Jersey City staple. The idea for Luna de Papel came out of a conversation Ruth had with one of her daughters several years ago. When her daughter wanted to throw away a pair of jeans because there was a hole in them, Ruth realized she needed and wanted to teach her daughters about resourcefulness through sewing, crafting, repurposing, and more. Ruth, who had grown up in the mountains of Peru, had come from a background where every toy, piece of clothing, accessory, etc. was handmade. She felt a strong desire to pass this along to her own children. Luna De Papel offers including Mommy/Daddy & Me classes, Drop-In & Play hours, after-school workshops, adult classes, and more.

Marietta Pineda-Reynolds of Downtown Medspa

Marietta Pineda-Reynolds, a mother of four, co-owns Downtown Medspa with her husband, Dr. Eric Reynolds, DPM. Maria has over 20 years of experience in Sales and Marketing and over 10 years of experience in Real Estate Sales. Downtown Medspa’s mission is to give Jersey City residents the most effective, science-based cosmetic and rejuvenation treatments possible, using state-of-the-art equipment. All of the treatments at Downtown Medspa are minimally invasive, safe, and require no downtime. 

Dr. Chitra Mittal of Liberty Physical Therapy

Dr. Chitra Mittal has one son, Yash, and is the owner of Liberty Physical Therapy. Dr. Chitra has not only been treating patients in the New Jersey area but she also has been treating patients of all ages all around the globe. She obtained her Masters of Health Science at the University of Indianapolis with a concentration in Orthopedics. Dr. Chitra contributed her knowledge to other Physical Therapy students as a Teaching Assistant at Harvard University. Her business offers specialized services for Pediatrics, Pelvic Floor, Vestibular Rehab, Neuro Rehab, Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in a 5000 sq ft, state of the art facility.

Lynn Hazan

Lynn Hazan is a mom to a beautiful daughter, Mia, and the founder of Lynnhazan.com a blog about all things Jersey City, as well as food, travel, and culture. She also founded AIM Media, a full-service social media and content management company to help small businesses promote themselves to the community.

Tanya Buran of TanyaBuran Photography

Tanya Buran is the owner of Tanya Buran Photography. Her passion is to photograph family and newborns and has been in the business for over 6 years. Her style is creative, natural, and timeless. She also has a natural light studio in downtown Jersey City servicing families from NYC, Brooklyn, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City, and Bayonne. She is a mom of two!

Danielle Sporcic of The Little Gym of Jersey City

Danielle Sporcic is a mom to a boy and a girl. She owns The Little Gym of Jersey City. She was motivated to bring The Little Gym of Jersey City to the community after seeing the positive impact it had given on their active and adventurous toddler. They believe in providing a nurturing environment, where children explore their physical development, while also growing socially, emotionally, and intellectually.

Shehnaaz from Shehnaaz Dance Academy

Shehnaaz Jagasia, a geneticist by profession, chose to pursue her passion for dance in 2009. She is a mom of two and lives in Jersey City. The joy she found from teaching children combined with her love for dance drove her to create the Shehnaaz Dance Academy in 2012. Shehnaaz is a trained dancer in the Classical Dance form of Bharatnatyam (Dr. Swaminathan) and has learned other dance forms (like Jazz, Salsa, Cha Cha Cha) from the Shiamak Davar Institute of Performing Arts. She has participated in several stage shows and has been an integral part of choreographed dances since the early age of 3.

Rene Safarova-Gonzalez of Bambino Chef

Bambino Chef is created and owned by Rene Safarova-Gonzalez, a proud mother of two. Rene’s love for cooking and creating recipes with her children inspired her to open a kitchen studio where children and adults can learn and experience the magic she feels in the kitchen.

Bambino Chef offers children cooking lessons, birthday parties, summer/winter camps, storytime sessions, playdate gatherings, holiday events, adult cooking classes, and other learning and developmental activities while learning the importance of healthy nutrition and cooking up little masterpieces.

Tal Shuster from Shuster Management

Tal was born and raised in Israel. She is a mom of four kids and lives in Jersey City. After serving three years as an Officer in the Israeli Army, Tal arrived in the United States to complete her studies and graduate from Rutgers. Tal also later earned a master’s degree from Columbia University. Tal worked in a number of companies, including The Israeli Consulate, Merrill Lynch, Ark Restaurants, and specialized in the field of Human resources and Marketing. In the last four years, she joined her husband at Shuster Management, a leading real estate development company in New Jersey.

Elizabeth Cain of Hound About Town and Hazel Baby & Kids

Elizabeth Cain is a mom of one, owner of not one, but two businesses, Hound About Town and Hazel Baby & Kids. Elizabeth drew inspiration for Hound About Town from their family dog, Wiley. As a family, they are eager to maintain Wiley’s happy and healthy lifestyle, which is why they brought natural food products and other tools for training dogs with positive reinforcement to the Jersey City community with Hound About Town. In addition to Hound About Town, Elizabeth was also motivated to bring socially responsible, environmentally friendly, and sustainable products for children with Hazel Baby & Kids. She also the executive director at Exchange Place Alliance.

Myani Lawson of Bergen Layfette Montessori 

Myani Lawson is a mom of two beautiful girls as well as the head of school/executive director of Bergen Layfatte Montessori. She received her formal introduction to The Montessori Method at Princeton Center for Teacher Education. She has worked in the field of education for over 20 years. During her career, she has held the positions of the classroom teacher, academic enrichment program director, elementary instructional coach, adult education instructor, university adjunct instructor, educational consultant, and curriculum coordinator. Ms. Lawson is a passionate and dedicated educator whose varied background and hands-on approach ensure Bergen-Lafayette Montessori School’s offerings exceed the standards.

Tatiana Vega of My Gym Jersey City

Tatiana is a mom of three kids. Vega and Perez opened their first “My Gym” franchise in Hoboken in 2012, and then another in Jersey City. My Gym, which caters to children between 0-13 years old, offers a variety of services, including exercise classes, sports instruction, after-school programs, and “Mommy & Me” classes.

Tere Fox from Jam Cakery Events

Tere is a mom of two living in Jersey City. In 2008, she and her husband set out to offer nutritious and delicious vegan eats and treats. They successfully headed Rockin’ Raw Restaurant for nine years in Manhattan / Brooklyn. During this time, they created a wholesale department that delivers weekly grab-and-go raw, vegan eats and baked treats to over 100 health food stores, cafes, and restaurants, including the famed Juice Press. Tere started Jam Cakery Events which caters to all events including weddings and birthdays. They also specialize in delicious and beautiful cakes for all occasions.

Mary Christian From Ivy Primary Prep

Mary Christian is the proud owner and director of Ivy Primary Prep. Ivy Primary Prep is an early education center for ages 3 months to 6 years. As a first-generation American, she had the opportunity to experience two different education systems, which has served as the root of her inspiration. She is a mom two adorable sons!

 

Updated May 2nd, 2022