As we reported back in October, Three Seat Espresso is planning to close its doors in the months ahead here at 137 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.
Starting today, the cafe will just be open on weekends from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through January.
Meanwhile, there's a sign on the door for interested parties in taking over the lease...
The founder blamed declining sales — due to the Starbucks that opened on the block in August 2017 — as the reason behind the pending closure.
Three Seats first arrived as a cafe-barber concept in the fall of 2016. Ownership expanded the cafe in place of the barber in November 2018.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Three Seat Espresso will close by the end of 2019 on Avenue A; founder blames Starbucks
I think their demise has more to do with cashless system, lackluster service and average coffee more than the Starbucks opening
ReplyDeleteI boycotted them because they were cashless, but I did like the digs at $tarbux on their sandwich board, though: "STARBUCKS—WHERE COFFEE GOES TO DIE."
ReplyDeleteCashless. Hard pass.
ReplyDeleteEast village is not really a big torrid destination and people who live her use their money for rent not overpriced coffee. If you want to succeed copy cat a Dublin dog it’s just do it better wit organic ingredients.
ReplyDeleteI went in there once, ordered an iced latte and when I went to pay for it after it was placed on the counter in front of me with cash was I informed it was a cashless business. I am a server so I have cash and was just running errands and didn’t have plastic on me. I noticed a tip jar with currency in it and offered the price (I think $5.25) of the latte into the tip jar as payment. The barista refused, I shrugged and he then went to the sink and dumped the latte down the drain. I never went back and not surprised of their closure
ReplyDeleteWow
DeleteMeanwhile, in upside-down backwards world; I went to a Starbucks the other day (something I almost never do) and went to pay with my ApplePay. When it didn't work, I remebered that I had deleted my credit card from my phone the day before for some particular reason.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went to reach for cash, the guy said "Naw, don't worry about it. On the house" with a big smile.
I gave him a couple bucks tip.
@12:54 PM The law is if they've already sold it to you they have to take cash. "legal tender" and all that. Cashless joints require payment upfront because of this. This comes up all the time in discussion.
ReplyDeleteGood riddance to that business. I always carry plastic and walked out of a place because they were plastic only. I could have paid, I was probably going to pay with plastic, but I'll spend elsewhere every time.
Fuku on First Ave. was cashless and I thought it was an imposition for an overrated chicken sandwich. But at least one counterperson there would take your cash then pay with his credit card.
ReplyDeleteThey used to have a barber in the back. I went in there one time hoping to get a haircut without an appointment. Walked to the back, some dude was on his phone and didnt acknowledge me even tho i stood there for a solid 10 mins. Finally a barista came in and asked if i needed help. I said i wanted a haircut. Guy said its appointment only. I laughed and looked at the dude like, really? Couldnt have the courtesy to let me know? You saw me standing here? I walked off. Needless to say refuse to go back, and dont feel sorry for them that their business is hurting. Its NY, customer service should be a priority, if not, you wint survive.
ReplyDeleteOver-overpriced. And, while I hate seeing a corporate behemoth swallow up a local business, the cashless thing was a killer. Better/cheaper treats at Westville, and the Aussie concept seems to be working at Saltwater.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard any complaints about a cashless business anywhere on the planet, except the EV Grieve comment section. It's almost 2020. I can't imagine this is an issue for 99% of the potential customers of Three Seat Espresso.
ReplyDeleteA cashless business discriminates against low-income people, and often they are people of color and undocumented immigrants.
ReplyDeleteThat's why cities across the US are banning cashless businesses. I hope NYC follows suit (see the legislation introduced by Councilmember Ritchie Torres).
We need fewer businesses like Three Seats that discriminate.
“John said... I've never heard any complaints about a cashless business anywhere on the planet, except the EV Grieve comment section.”
ReplyDeleteRewind to all the way back to 2018, when the Shake Shack on Astor place rolled out their cashless system to great fanfare. A few months later it was dead, due to massive customer complaints, and they immediately brought back their cashiers.
The last time I checked, Astor Place was on this planet. Also: 12% of New Yorkers don't have a bank account, and 25% rely on cash for all transactions. These are mostly people of color. The City Council is working on legislation to ban cashless businesses in New York. The minute we allow businesses to discriminate based on credit card ownership, we might as well just go back to the days of Jim Crow laws and apartheid.
@7:00 PM
ReplyDeleteI despise and boycott cashless businesses in solidarity with my friends who don't have plastic, either because of financial reasons or because they're too young.
i boycott cash only businesses.
ReplyDelete