Nonprofit Youth Center to Open Soon in Rosemont

The New Leaf Club, which aims to provide entertainment and education for young adults, will soon be coming to Rosemont.

“I saw the need for a place that was a safe, sober environment for kids to come,” said Rosemont resident Mary Nixon Hiltbrand, who has four grown children. “I always felt that high school kids and young adults needed a place to go.”

The club, at 1225 Montrose Ave., will have an Internet café, a juice bar, yoga studio, exhibition hall for student art shows and space for dances, comedy and music performances like open mic night and battle of the bands. Hiltbrand and Donna Brooks plan to open the club in mid- to late June and said construction should be finished by Memorial Day. The building used to house a Smith & Hawken store, which closed in 2009.

Hiltbrand’s and Brooks’s kids (her youngest is a freshman in high school) have given their moms some feedback about what would be cool and what wouldn’t be, especially in terms of when adults can attend certain events.

“It’s important that kids have that space and that time away from adults,” Brooks said.

Hiltbrand and Brooks are both involved in a number of other volunteer organizations that involve issues affecting teenagers and young adults, like chemical dependency, depression and eating disorders. 

“This is a place for all those organizations to come meet,” Hiltbrand said. “We’re really trying to do a good thing to raise awareness.”

The non-profit will rely on donations, money from the café and modest fees for events and yoga classes.

Drexel senior Shane Newman, who is studying hospitality, got involved so he can work at the juice bar, offering fresh juices and teas so young adults can use natural alternatives to concentrate on work instead of things like adderall. 

Newman has been studying alternative medicine and has been to workshops as far away as South America.

“I think the name ‘New Leaf Club’ is really symbolic of our mission,” Newman said. “For people opening a new chapter of their lives, this is a really great opportunity and place to do that.”