The song of the summer, 46 years later

As a vinyl enthusiast, I always see what's playing on the turntable at C&B Café, 178 E. Seventh St., just west of Avenue B.

Earlier this summer, during a coffee break, the needle dropped on Supertramp's classic 1979 album, Breakfast in America. 

The opening track, "Gone Hollywood," was playing while I waited inside. It stuck in my head and refused to leave, no matter what else I tried to put on repeat.

So, I've stopped fighting it and officially declared it the Summer Song of 2025.

It's just heartbreaking
I should have known that it would let me down
It's just a mind-aching
I used to dream about this town

 

Gas service restored at C&B Café on 7th Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

It was high fives all around yesterday when ConEd restored gas service to C&B Café.

ConEd crews arrived at 9:30 a.m. to inspect the lines and perform pressure tests, then returned before noon to restore service. 

Gas service was shut down early the morning of Aug. 19 after an alarm went off in the basement of the building at 178 E. Seventh St., between Avenue A and Avenue B. ConEd traced the problem back to what C&B owner Ali Sahin described as shoddy work on a previous gas line nearly a decade ago. 

The turnaround was unexpectedly fast: licensed plumbers installed new gas lines late last week, and with yesterday's approvals, the café is back in full operation. 

Meanwhile, Sahin said that some of the cold menu items that debuted during the outage — including the tuna sandwich — may remain. However, the regular lineup is expected to be back in operation today. 

It might take another day or two to get everything fully operational, but Sahin and his team appeared confident.

C&B Café debuts new menu items as gas service remains off

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Updated: Gas service was restored on Aug. 26.

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C&B Café is debuting a temporary cold menu today while waiting on ConEd to restore gas service to its outpost on Seventh Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Owner Ali Sahin and his team have pulled together a lineup that includes turkey and cold ham sandwiches (with ham slow-cooked in-house), menemen, and a mushroom-and-egg salad. 

The café will be relying on two induction burners until the gas is turned back on. 

Yesterday afternoon, Sahin worked on a fried veggie sandwich with eggplant, tomato and zucchini that he recalled from a trip to Italy..

In a bit of good news: A new gas line has been installed and all the pipes are operational — they're just waiting on ConEd's final approval. 

Gas service was shut down early Tuesday morning after an alarm went off in the basement of the building at 178 E. Seventh St. 

Sahin said the issue traces back eight or nine years, to what he calls shoddy work on a previous gas line. 

Aside from the new menu items, C&B is still turning out wholesale orders along with plenty of pastries, bread and coffee. Lots of coffee.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• C&B Café trying to make the best of a bad situation after gas shutoff on 7th Street

C&B Café trying to make the best of a bad situation after gas shutoff on 7th Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Updated: Gas service was restored on Aug. 26.

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Early Tuesday morning, C&B Café owner Ali Sahin was on his way to his yet-to-open bakery at 178 E. Seventh St. when he saw the FDNY pulling up. A gas alarm in the basement of the residential building had gone off, triggering a response. 

"When I opened the door, there was a very strong smell of gas," Sahin said. 

The FDNY shut off gas to the entire building and both line valves. He fears it could take months before service is restored. The building upstairs has reportedly been in the process of converting to all-electric, which makes a full repair even less likely. 

Sahin said ConEd stayed on-site overnight. Crews shut down the Citi Bike station across the street between Avenue A and Avenue B and opened up the area around the main gas line.

He added that the issue traces back eight or nine years, to what he calls shoddy work. 

"There was an old gas line in the basement. When a new one was installed, [Con Ed workers] failed to close the other one, leaving a cut line open and potentially leaking." 

For now, C&B is still turning out wholesale orders and plenty of pastries, bread, and coffee.

Without gas to crank out their well-liked egg sandwiches, though, Sahin and his team are working on a revised menu of cold plates, salads, sandwiches, and a few dishes prepared on induction burners or their lone electric oven — possibly available starting this weekend.

C&B is currently operating with reduced staff, and Sahin said he is in contact with other restaurants to help place workers if the shutdown drags on.

"At first I was angry," Sahin said. "Now I am just glad we did not explode."

Friday's parting shots

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Happy 10th anniversary to C&B Café owner Ali Sahin and his team at 178 E. Seventh St., between Avenue A and Avenue B.

C&B opened in January 2015, and they've been great neighbors ever since. They sponsored the tree lighting in Tompkins Square Park, provided kitchen space to the volunteers who went on to form EVLovesNY, fed unhoused neighbors, provided Thanksgiving meals at Graffiti Church, refilled the community fridge, and taught kids from the Amsterdam School how to make cookies for free. The list goes on.

This holiday season, C&B Café serves up its first-ever pies

Photos and story by Stacie Joy 

When I heard that neighborhood fave baker Ali Sahin of C&B Café was testing holiday pie recipes, I immediately ran over to the space on Seventh Street between Avenue A and Avenue B to get a sneak peek. I love pie! 

Ali is working with baker Daniel Villalobos (below left), who created the pumpkin pie that is now available for purchase.

These whole 9-inch pies are for sale up until the weekend before Thanksgiving. (This coming weekend!)

Ali says they "generously feed eight people." The pies are $30 each, available with torched meringue or not — your call.

The best way to order is through Instagram DM, but you can also do so in person at the shop or by emailing Ali@candbnyc.com.

So... why pies, and why now? 

"We needed a little change, I felt a bit stagnant," Ali said of his C&B offerings. "I wanted a change in our pace." 

I noted that the crust appeared puffier than you'd see on a traditional pie. Daniel explained it was "not a laminated dough like puff pastry, but a flakier crust, made with all (high butterfat) butter, no lard."

He added that the pumpkin filling "had a bit of mascarpone cheese, plus spices like ginger."
 

The taste-testing went well...

After Thanksgiving, you can expect to see more pie options. Ali and Daniel are looking at an apple pie with oat crumble topping, a pecan pie, and a chocolate French silk pie with heavy cream. 

Also available soon (after the holiday rush): mini-pies with new flavor profiles, and pies by the slice.

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy

Some classic Stevie Wonder hits flowing this afternoon from the turntable at C&B Café on Seventh Street...

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo and text by Stacie Joy 

Today marked the last day at C&B Cafe on Seventh Street near Avenue B for Bailey Anderes, the coffee shop's stylish barista/counterperson/general happy presence. 

Bailey is pursuing a dream career (blogging?) in another profession... and everyone who has been through the doors here will miss him!

Saturday's opening shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Pausing the C&B Cafe staff meeting yesterday for a photo!

C&B is at 178 E. Seventh St. just west of Avenue B.

A lost Lego

A notice of a lost Lego — Golden Ninja Lloyd? — as seen at C&B Cafe on Seventh Street... thanks to Robert Miner for the photo!

C&B debuts expanded space on 7th Street

Photos by Stacie Joy

As we've been reporting, C&B chef-owner Ali Sahin is expanding his cafe into the vacant retail space — the former dry cleaners — next door here at 178 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

And C&B recently debuted the new-look space, which includes the return of the record player (and records!) ... which had to go with the need for more storage in the spring of 2020 ... 

The expanded C&B doesn't include any indoor dining — just increased space for the staff to work as well as a longer to-go counter.

All this makes Ali pretty happy... or maybe it's just the heat!

C&B is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for breakfast, lunch and coffee.

Expanded C&B Cafe nearly ready

As we've been reporting, C&B chef-owner Ali Sahin is expanding his cafe into the vacant retail space — the former dry cleaners — next door here at 178 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

The C&B team is getting closer to a grand opening of the combined storefront. EVG contributor Stacie Joy got another in-progress look...

Still to be done, the new freezer installed, the custom cabinets put up and the much-anticipated return of the record player and albums.

Ali showed Stacie the plans on his phone as he pointed out the new pass-through, the marble countertops and subway tiles...

Ali doesn't have any plans for indoor dining — just increased space for him and the team and a longer to-go counter.

You can follow C&B on Instagram for grand-opening details. 

Meanwhile, the original cafe remains open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A sneak peek at the new C&B space

As we reported on Dec. 2, C&B chef-owner Ali Sahin is expanding his cafe into the vacant retail space — the former dry cleaners — next door here at 178 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

The other day, Ali gave EVG contributor Stacie Joy a sneak peek at the under-renovation storefront...

Ali hopes to have it up and running in about a month. The larger C&B will not have indoor dining, but rather increased space for staff — and more room to bake bread. The reconfigured C&B will also have a longer to-go counter for patrons.

Meanwhile, C&B remains open daily for to-go service from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

C&B Cafe turns 6

A quick — and slightly belated! — happy 6th anniversary to C&B Cafe over at 178 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

Chef-owner Ali Sahin's A+ breakfast-lunch-coffee to-go shop opened in late January 2015. 

While it was certainly a challenging year for any local business (C&B's woes included a break-in), Sahin did have plenty to celebrate, including a successful crowdfunding campaign to purchase a new oven, a lease to extend the space into the vacant storefront next door and a headline-grabbing champagne assist as Biden won the presidency. 

Here's to the next six years... 

Photo from April by Stacie Joy

C&B is expanding on 7th Street

In some very positive local business news... C&B chef-owner Ali Sahin plans to expand his cafe into the vacant retail space — the former dry cleaners — next door here at 178 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy reports that, at the moment, Sahin doesn't have any plans for indoor dining — just increased space for him and the team and a longer to-go counter. 

While he has signed a lease on the new storefront, this is a long-term project, as per Sahin, so don't expect to see the expanded space anytime too soon.

Back in the spring, Sahin held a successful fundraiser to buy a larger, more efficient oven for the cafe. Since then, he has been cranking out even more tasty bread. 

C&B opened here in January 2015.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• A visit to C&B Cafe on 7th Street