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Swedish Chocolate and Coffee Shop Opening in Apthorp Building

By Emily Frost | December 16, 2013 10:29am
 The small shop will feature luxury chocolates, Swedish food and coffee. 
FIKA Coffee and Chocolate Shop Coming to UWS
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UPPER WEST SIDE — A new Swedish chocolate shop is coming to Broadway between West 78th and 79th streets late next month, complete with coffee and Scandinavian fare.

The new shop, FIKA — which means "coffee break" in Swedish — is a mini chain with five other Manhattan locations, including a chocolate factory based in TriBeCa. 

"Very few people know this, but Swedes are actually among the top consumers of coffee in the world," said Lena Khoury, the company's director of strategy. 

Khoury said the location in the historic Apthorp building will have espresso and coffee made exclusively with Arabica beans from Brazil, El Salvador and Ethiopia that are roasted in Brooklyn. 

Along with chocolates and pastries, the 10-seat shop will also serve Swedish food, she said. Other FIKA outposts serve salmon and meatballs. 

FIKA also sells whimsical chocolate gifts like "chocolate pills" and mini chocolate skulls in gold and red. 

In October, Birdbath bakery, which serves coffee and pastries, opened at West 80th and Broadway, on the east side of the street.

And according to the Hotel Belleclaire, which owns the space that used to house Big Nick's, a French bakery is on its way to replace the longtime joint, on Broadway between West 76th and 77th streets.