This outpost, which opened in November 2021, will be closing. We hear the lease is up, and management declined to renew, citing the storefront's (alleged) outdated electrical system as the reason for the departure.
Staff will be reassigned to our BS outposts.
This pending closure marks the last of the East Village Blank Street outposts. The V.C.-funded coffee chain also had locations on Third Avenue... First Avenue and in the Bowery Market.
As previously noted, not everyone was a fan of the company. Per the Times in 2022: "When word got out that Blank Street is not an independent chain ... but an enterprise with global ambitions backed by private equity financing, many became curious — and sometimes suspicious."
7 comments:
Sweet! Starbucks next please. No excuse to shop with a chain when there are plenty of locally owned places around (Ninth Street Espresso, C&B, Thayer, etc.).
From what I can tell, BS (ha!) is a prime example of 'push-button' coffee - not much knowledge of espresso, etc. is needed when all you need to do is put the cup under the spigot and hit 'go', like one would do when getting a Slushee at 7-11.
Fantastic news! Why buy bad coffee from VC predators when there are so many terrific small businesses nearby
It is common knowledge that Blank Street has intentionally been closing down their smaller start up locations with the clear intention of funding large scale spaces only. This is the reason that smaller locations are being abandoned by the MEGA CHAIN.
Blank Street Coffee is heavily backed by venture capital firms that have investments in Israeli tech companies. Founded by Issam Freiha (Lebanon) and Vinay Menda (UAE), the chain is funded by investors such as General Catalyst, Tiger Global, and Left Lane Capital.
"BS outposts" indeed
Good riddance. These chains are a cancer on the face of small businesses that have been infiltrating the EV and destroying its rich historic bohemian culture.
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