Bernice Skipworth is celebrating her 65th birthday at Diamondz N Da Ruff with her 94-year-old cousin, Ruby Smith.
Skipworth, a retired insurance worker who toiled in Newark, NJ, for years, leans over to note that her elderly cousin picked the venue.
“I read about this place in the Newark Star-Ledger and wanted to try it,” says Smith, who is so spry, she looks like she’s barely scraping 75.
Two older women at an adjacent table overhear the conversation and nod in agreement that this tiny cafe on a rather barren stretch of Brick City has been a hot topic at their water-aerobics class.
Why is this nondescript eatery, which is flanked by a Burger King and an AutoZone, the talk of the town?
One of the proprietors happens to have given birth to and raised superstar rapper and entrepreneur Jay Z, also known as Shawn Carter.
The rapper’s mother, Gloria, opened Diamondz N Da Ruff with longtime pals Peggie Miller and Debra Holmes three weeks ago. And the understated BYOB restaurant on the corner of Clay Street (once a hub for linoleum businesses) has been attracting hoards of locals — some hoping to catch a glimpse of the rap impresario, others just for a plate of moderately priced soul food.
The trio christened their new venture with a party that drew Beyoncé and Jay Z, and for the first two Sundays, a line stretched around the corner.
“There’s a lot of curiosity because, of course, we’ve all heard of Jay Z,” says Skipworth, dressed in a prim pink linen ensemble, with a plate of Buffalo wings and fresh-cut french fries ($8) before her. “People want to see what Jay Z’s mother is involved in,” she adds, giving the thumbs up to her meal.
Patrons like Skipworth may have been expecting a slick lounge with all-black everything and Armand de Brignac Champagne, Jay Z’s choice of bubbly. In reality, Diamondz has none of the markings of the owner’s famous offspring. It’s a quaint room with exposed brick walls, a tile floor and busy red and purple fabric on the windows. A small stage in the center of the room plays host to Friday karaoke nights and Saturday open-mike nights. The soundtrack is soft jazz of the Kenny G variety. And the crowd is less chic Maison Martin Margiela and more old-fashioned Sunday finery.
Unlike the 40/40 Club or the exclusive Vault club at the Barclays Center, there’s no VIP room or velvet rope. The one-room boîte is a social free-for-all, with strangers chatting up strangers, making it feel like a family reunion. The owners and waitresses dish out just as many hugs as plates of $15 crab cakes (their best seller).
“I’m a hugger,” explains Miller, as she embraces patrons leaving the restaurant on Sunday night.
It’s the warm atmosphere the owners envisioned.
“It’s like ‘Cheers’ here. People just sit down and introduce themselves,” says Holmes.
During the opening party, Jay Z and Beyoncé, in a floral onesie, sipped bubbly and mingled with everyone.
Since then, other boldfacers have come to break bread. Zany musician George Clinton of P-Funk fame joined the robust post-church crowd on Sunday afternoon, and Holmes says the former mayor of Newark, ex-con Sharpe James, took the stage last Friday to belt out Sinatra’s “My Way” for karaoke night.
Holmes, a Jersey City resident, is the common thread in the threesome. She and Carter, the CEO of her son’s Shawn Carter Foundation, met 30 years ago playing the card game bid whist. Holmes then brought her longtime friend Miller into the fold.
The three women dreamed of opening a restaurant combining food and music, but it didn’t come to fruition until a friend found this venue. Upon seeing it, Holmes wrote a check on the spot and prayed Miller and Carter would be onboard.
“It was small for what we wanted, but I came through the door and said, ‘We have to have this,’ ” Holmes says. Carter came up with the name, meaning that Newark was the rough, and “We were the diamonds,” explains Holmes.
Holmes created the small organic soul-food menu with chefs Younnia Wells and Tony Williams. Every Sunday, they spotlight a different cuisine. Last week was Caribbean soul food and next week, it might be Italian.
Miller, a Newark native, is the convivial one who hopped onstage Sunday to serenade a customer with Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday.” Carter, meanwhile, is in charge of the business operations.
“A lot of people don’t follow their dreams. We decided to take the next step and make it work,” Carter told the Star-Ledger.
One treat is a Carter family recipe — a chocolate pineapple cake baked by Jay Z’s grandmother, Hattie White, whom everyone refers to as “Mom.”
Holmes and Miller call the chocolate-frosted vanilla layer cake laced with tropical fruit “Mommy’s cake.”
Asked if the fact that Jay Z’s mother is a co-owner is a draw, Miller pauses. “It’s hard to say. People probably do come here because of the link. But they come back because of what they experience.”
Such was the case for Traymanesha Moore, an assistant dean at Rutgers. She’s already patronized Diamondz three times since it opened and downplays the allure of the Carter name.
“I think there was a need for a lounge in Newark,” says the 33-year-old local. “I came and met people. And came back and met more people. It’s like I am sitting in my living room. And it’s soul food. Who doesn’t love soul food?” adds Moore, who was eating mac ’n’ cheese and jerk chicken.
Kevin E. Taylor, a TV producer and pastor of Unity Fellowship Church, who blessed the space, says the food is the main attraction and seduction.
“They do a coleslaw with peanuts in it, and it makes it smoky and savory. I put the coleslaw on the turkey-burger slider, and yes, ma’am, it’s a life experience,” he says.
“The food is great. And that travels a lot faster than Jay Z and Beyoncé’s name.”
Diamondz N Da Ruff, 71 Clay St., Newark, NJ; 862-902-8083. Open Tuesday through Sunday.