The Upper West Side is slated to get a new café, which will double as a community library. Birch Coffee, a purveyor of coffees, teas, food, organic beers and wines, will set up shop in a ground-level retail space at the Archstone West 96th, a rental residence. This marks Birch Coffee’s second Manhattan location; the first was opened in 2009 in Madison Square Park.
Kyle Allen of Thor High Street Advisors represented Birch Coffee and according to a spokesperson, now represents the company exclusively. Thor High Street declined to disclose the terms of the lease. The listing shows an address of 750 Columbus Avenue between 96th and 97th streets — an area with plenty of foot traffic, given the nearby Whole Foods Market.
A Thor High Street press release states that the space measures 1,200 square feet, though its listing, which Brad Cohen and Jason Pennington of Ripco Real Estate had, says square footage totals 1,996. A breakdown of space allocation between the coffee shop, beer bar and library has not been determined. PropertyShark shows the Archstone measuring 314,997 square feet, including nearly 20,000 square feet of retail space. — Zachary Kussin