Coffee, Culture, and Community

Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo share a coffee lineage tied to immigration, countercultural movements, and the aesthetic of the “third place” that’s neither home nor work. You can trace that history from the storied cafés of the past, the old‐style importers, and the many dearly departed coffee shops to our new favorites.

The Italian Cafés of the South Village

It’s impossible to deny the influence that Italian culture and immigration has had on our neighborhoods. This is especially true in the South Village, which was a predominantly Italian immigrant neighborhood from the late 19th through most of the 20th century. While original Italian coffee spots like Caffe Dante at 79-81 MacDougal Street, Cafe Borgia at 185 Bleecker Street, and Cafe Cino at 31 Cornelia Street have all closed their doors, Caffe Reggio is still going strong at 119 MacDougal street. Read more about the Italian cafes of the South Village here.

Have you ever wondered what was it like managing a storied Greenwich Village coffee house in the 1960’s? Our neighborhoods have long been a crossroads of creative life: writers, artists, students, and activists would meet at cafés or coffee houses to talk, argue, compose, or just linger over a cup. Watch our video featuring longtime local resident Bill DeSeta disucssing his experiences managing the legendary Bitter End, partnering with Manny Roth of Cafe Wha?, and living in Greenwich Village at a time when it was influencing the entire world. 

Two 100+ Year Old Favorites

Both McNulty’s Tea and Coffee (109 Christopher Street) and Porto Rico Importing Company (201 Bleecker Street & 40 St. Marks Place) have served our communities for over 100 years. Both have adapted to serve our modern lives while retaining their old-world charm. The atmosphere of burlap sacks, scales, and scoops evoke the days when we shopped at small businesses locally for all essential needs. And 100 years later, you can still shop locally for your coffee needs!

Coffee House Club

In recent years, the Coffee House Club has found a new home at the Salmagundi Club at 47 Fifth Avenue. Founded in 1915, the Coffee House Club is an invitation-only social club inspired by a long-standing tradition of intellectual and literary societies, such as the 18th-century coffeehouses of London, but with a modern (in 1915) twist. It was born out of a rebellion against the clubs of the era which functioned more as meeting places to celebrate wealth and grow social and business connections. But the Coffee House Club emphasized camaraderie over competition, making it an ideal environment for collaboration and creativity to flourish. Read more about the Coffee House Club here.

Coffee Shops on the Historic Image Archive

While we still have the Bus Stop Cafe, La Bonbonniere, and a few others, most of the classic NYC “coffee shops” in our area have closed and only exist in our memory or in our Historic Image Archive:

Joe Jr’s was a local favorite on the corner of 6th Avenue and West 12th Street for decades before closing in 2009.

This coffee shop documented by Carole Teller on the corner of 2nd Avenue and 11th Street in the 1980s has been closed for decades.

Stanley’s Coffee Shop at 14 Avenue A has also been closed for decades.

The Coffee Shop on Union Square West closed in 2018 after 28 years in this location.

New Favorites

NYC runs on coffee and sales remain strong. Although many of our old favorites have closed, now we have new favorites! Just to note a few, Ninth Street Espresso was founded in 2001 at 700 East 9th Street and Avenue C with a primary focus on manual espresso service. It has now expanded to four locations. 787 Coffee started with one Puerto Rican coffee farm in 2014. It now has 16 Manhattan locations including three in the East Village at 101 and 159 2nd Avenue and 131 East 7th Street.