MOTT HAVEN — South Bronx residents on the hunt for a good cup of coffee now have a new place to go.
The coffee shop CBKPerk has officially opened inside of Charlie's Bar and Kitchen, serving coffee, tea, muffins and pastries from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. every Monday through Friday.
"I think it's a great addition to the neighborhood," said David Aaron, who works in real estate and was at the cafe on Tuesday morning, where he enjoyed a banana muffin and a cappuccino. "It's a neighborhood that has got a lot of demand for the basic New York City needs."
The cafe offers a fairly basic menu so far, serving customers hot and iced coffees, espresso drinks, loose teas, muffins and pastries. Patrons can also order "flowing coffee" for $6, which offers them unlimited refills of hot coffee for an hour.
Starting with just a few standard cafe options was a conscious choice, according to Lovie Pignata, who is running the shop.
There are potential plans to add hot food items to the menu, such as breakfast sandwiches, but she wants to first get a better sense of what exactly would be a good fit for the neighborhood.
"I don't want to start out with too much and pull back," Pignata said. "I'd rather build."
Business has been steady but somewhat slow so far, which Pignata said she expected, particularly given Charlie's reputation as a spot for the happy hour and evening crowd.
"To be in an established place is a good thing, but it's always been known for the night," she said. "I have to tap into the morning."
She plans to try taking better advantage of local car traffic and canvassing around the neighborhood more to increase awareness of Mott Haven's new cafe.
Mike Gonzalez, owner of Verde Flowers across the street, has already become a loyal customer of CBKPerk, particularly its iced coffee.
Before it opened, a decent cup of joe was extremely hard to find in the neighborhood, he said.
"There were no options," he said, "no good coffee around."
CBKPerk is part of a string of coffee shops opening up across the South Bronx. The Italian cafe Palombo is set to have its official opening by Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, while the Bronx Arts Museum will open a cafe in its lobby in August.
Charlie Said, owner of Charlie's, said he hoped to also start serving healthy juices at the restaurant and was optimistic that now was a good time for opening the cafe, given that Charlie's has become a fairly well-known eatery.
"Just offer the neighborhood what it's missing out on," he said. "What's missing in the neighborhood, and how do we fill those needs?"
