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A new coffee shop in Mount Rainier will soon fill the spot along Rhode Island Avenue vacated by Artmosphere Café.

Derek Lowery and Brian Rhone, cousins and Mount Rainier residents, will open Spotlight Café, over Easter weekend, likely on April 3.

The pair also owns Delectable Cakery, an 11-year-old business originally based in Landover Hills but now with a Mount Rainier store location.

The café will open next door to the cake store at 3311 Rhode Island Ave. in the space formerly occupied by Artmosphere Café, a café-turned-performance venue. Artmosphere was open for three years but closed April 2009 after the owners were unable to cover costs and make rent payments.

The owners said they struggled with metered-parking issues, an inconvenient location on the north side of Route 1 and the lack of visible development along Rhode Island Avenue.

Since closing, the city has purchased and razed the former Bass Liquors, which sat vacant along Rhode Island Avenue, with plans to turn it into a paid parking lot until the city finds a developer. The city has also agreed to purchase two more properties along Rhode Island Avenue near City Hall, which it may use for a city hall and library expansion.

But Lowery said he's not worried about those issues. Since opening Delectable Cakery's location in Mount Rainier six months ago, he said business has increased by about 30 percent. Lowery attributes this to the increase in the business's visibility and the added support of the Mount Rainier residents.

Spotlight Café will sell coffee drinks and light fare, feature local artists and poets and host themed events, such as a storytelling night for children.

"We are very optimistic that what we're doing is good for the community," Lowery said. "We have faith that what we're doing is a good concept that people will latch onto."

Lowery said the café will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

City Councilman Jimmy Tarlau (Ward 1) said he's supportive of the idea to feature performers and that such businesses need some kind of entertainment offering in order to survive.

"It's great to have a coffeehouse, and we know they run the Delectable Cakery, which shows they know how to run a business," he said.

Much of Delectable Cakery's success was built upon their sweet potato cake, a recipe by Lowery's mother, which they sell to Nordstrom's stores and various restaurants and hotels. Lowery said his love for food was partially instilled in him by his mother, who loves to entertain family and friends.

"I grew up around food," he said. "My family always gets together for Sunday dinners. We're very close and we come together with food."