The Coffee Shop (or Coffee Shop) was a restaurant and bar located next to Union Square in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The restaurant opened in 1990 and closed in 2018. It served Brazilian food.

History

Site and operating history

Before The Coffee Shop opened, the building was home to a coffee shop and cafe called Chase. The owners of Chase had placed a large neon sign outside the building reading "Coffee Shop" and the new tenant took its name from the sign and left it attached to the building. The tenant of the space occupied by the restaurant directly before it opened was a diner, Nick’s Coffee Shop. The Coffee Shop opened in 1990. Russell Simmons hosted his 1992 birthday at the restaurant. In 1993, the Coffee Shop changed part of its space into a venue for private parties. The

New York City Department of Health The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (also known as NYC Health) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for public health along with issuing birth certificates, dog licenses, and conducting restaur ...

ordered the restaurant to close for a period in 2007 after it failed an inspection. In 2015, the restaurant's owners opened a taco restaurant, Taco Shop, in the space next to The Coffee Shop.

Closure

In mid-2018, the restaurant's owners announced it would close in October 2018. It is one of several restaurants on Union Square that have closed due to rising rents. The restaurant hosted a final party before its closure. Portions of the space formerly occupied by the restaurant were rented to a

Chase Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Trade name, doing business as Chase, is an American National bank (United States), national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the retail banking, consumer and commercial bank, commercial banking su ...

branch and a location of the vegan food chain

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Reputation and staff

The restaurant was known for being popular with celebrities and members of New York's fashion scene. Several notable former members of the Coffee Shop's staff include dancer

Emery LeCrone Emery LeCrone is an American dancer and choreographer. Currently she dances professionally with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She is an established choreographer who has presented and produced numerous large scale productions with her ...

, politician

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, and actress

Maya Rudolph Maya Khabira Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress and comedian. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). During her tenure on the show, she appeared in supporting roles in ...

Menu and offerings

The restaurant served what the ''

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'' characterized as "vaguely Brazilian food". ''

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'' referred to the menu as "Brazilian-inspired". The restaurant served drinks made with ''

cachaça ''Cachaça'' () is a Liquor, distilled spirit made from fermented sugarcane juice. Also known as ''pinga'', ''caninha'', and other names, it is the most popular spirit in Brazil.Cavalcante, Messias Soares. Todos os nomes da cachaça. São Pau ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffee Shop (Union Square) 1990 establishments in New York City Restaurants established in 1990 Defunct restaurants in Manhattan Restaurants disestablished in 2018 2018 disestablishments in New York (state) Union Square, Manhattan Brazilian restaurants