It wasn’t long ago that the mere mention of the word coffee would conjure up images of distasteful cupfulls of God knows what. Fortunately, there’s been a revolution in the coffee world, and with any luck at all, those days of bad coffee dripping from the office coffee pot are gone forever. And leading the charge for some quite extrodinary are several visions of coffee heaven around New York City. Here are just a few:
Gregory’s Coffee. This business has eight locations already in Manhattan and three more on the way. From the moment you first walk into one of these charming places, you get the feeling that you’re in a chain outfit, with the same smiling cashiers, enormous lattes, and flavorful syrups that you will find at any of their locations. And if you look even more carefully, you will find a list of more exotic fare of coffees from all over the world. Not only that, but prices are very comparable to those at most other coffee houses.
Joe. In only the past few years Joe has not only expanded to eight locations throughout the city, but the shop’s owner is negotiating for three more locations to open in the very near future. You would think that all of this would be pretty difficult for anyone who has to pay the high price of rent in mid-city selling something like coffee, but they are obviously doing it, and well.
Ninth Street Espresso. This is one place that everyone seems to think is in an area that is “off the radar,” so to speak, in the Lombardy Hotel on E 56th St., but Ninth Street Espresso proves that when you offer a good cup of coffee, the world will come to your door. The company has four locations so far and plans include several more.
Kaffee 1668. When developers plan an area, it used to be that low margin businesses like coffee shops were not the ticket to high rent tags, but when one offered a space to the owners of Kaffee 1668, they say that they wanted a business that would set the tone for the whole building. Fortunately, that’s exactly what they got in the form of Kaffee 1668 on 5th Ave., and 45th St.. You have to see this place to believe it.
Little Collins, Enter this little shop and chances are good that you will find anything but what you were expecting. Most places offer a big urn that everything is poured from, but not Little Collins, which is a small, labor-intensive shop that literally brews to order. They only opened in Mid-town last year, but they’re already pouring more than 120 cups of coffee in two hours. It’s a lot of work, to be sure, but something every Mid-towner is thankful for.
That’s just a tiny look at many different coffee shops in Mid-town and the financial district, and there are many more in outlying areas. This list will get your started, but part of the fun of finding anything good is the search. Manhattan has proven that it can be good in that department, but coffee lovers will have to do their job too.
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