Located in Nelsonville’s Historic Public Square, New Leaf Marketplace might look like a typical café at first glance.
A vibrant mural lines the interior walls. Dozens of plants bloom upon windowsills and shelves. The air is thick with the scent of freshly brewed coffee and mouthwatering baked goods– muffins, cookies and brownies.
Behind the warm atmosphere and delectable goods, New Leaf Marketplace offers more: a program dedicated to uplifting trauma survivors. Its program is built on the belief that economic empowerment and education are vital to breaking the cycles of poverty, substance misuse and other systemic challenges.
The New Leaf program—a branch of the Survivor Advocacy Outreach Program (SAOP)—provides participants with a range of services including housing, counseling, childcare and legal advocacy. The marketplace also serves as a supportive, trauma-informed workplace for survivors.
“Whether that’s post-substance abuse or post-incarceration or post-domestic violence, we have a very broad definition of trauma in this program. All those things qualify,” Chelsea Dodson, SAOP Workforce Development Program Manager, says. “People come here to learn what they need to reintegrate into whatever world they choose to lead into.”
Every penny customers spend at the marketplace goes back into the program, according to Madison Trace, the interim executive director of SAOP.
“They (program participants) don’t have to pay anything out of pocket for their housing, their case management, their counseling,” Trace says. “The money that we make at the marketplace helps fund all of those services back to survivors.”
Although New Leaf Marketplace customers might come at first to support a good cause, the service and quality of products garner rave reviews.
Confections are all made from scratch by two program participants, who facilitate a rotating bakery menu with new items appearing in the cases regularly.
“We have a professional kitchen. We’re so lucky,” Dodson says. “I just say, ‘Make whatever you want, because it’s always good.’”
While staples like muffins, bagels, ice cream and cookies are consistently available, the bakers also introduce specialty items such as lemon bars, cosmic-style brownies and coconut macaroons.
The drink menu likewise offers a selection of tempting beverages: “Bikes, Bricks and Boots,” a creamy caramel latte; “Train Car & Concerts,” a peppermint patty latte; and “Purple Chai,” a lavender-flavored chai latte, rank among customer’s favorites.
Alongside house-made goods and specialty coffee creations, Dodson works to cultivate a local network. New Leaf Marketplace exclusively serves Dirty Girl Coffee, a Glouster-based company dedicated to women’s economic empowerment in Appalachia. The marketplace also showcases local artisans, selling a range of goods from paintings to handmade soaps and mugs.
Customers, drawn to the sense of locality and hospitality, quickly become regulars.
“The people who work here know them by first name basis,” Dodson says. “They know the drink you’re going to order. They see you walking down the street, and they start working on your order.”
Hannah Kittle, an Athens County Library outreach associate, stops at the marketplace nearly every day during her morning commute. Kittle orders a coffee and a freshly baked slice of savory bread.
“They make this great focaccia bread,” she says. “It’s delicious.”
Kittle returns time after time for the baked goods, but also eager to fund New Leaf’s mission.
“How they help people get back on their feet in the program, I just think it’s really spectacular,” Kittle says.
While the café staff appreciates how paying regulars such as Kittle help fund the mission, they take great pride in welcoming everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.
“If you need a safe place; if you need a warm place; if you need an air-conditioned place; if you need a bathroom; if you need a cup of water; if you need some food, we’re here to provide that for our community, because that’s what we’re here to do,” Dodson says.
The marketplace is more than just a café—it’s a second chance and a place where people can rebuild, thrive and grow.
“I have learned so much about what it means to be a leader and what it means to be resilient because of this program,” Dodson says. “It is incredible the amount of growth that you see so quickly when people are just given a safe place to be.”