PARK SLOPE — A new cafe on Seventh Avenue wants to brew both coffee and community by opening its space to local groups who need meeting space.
Uptown Roasters opened Wednesday at 355 Seventh Ave., between 10th and 11th streets. The cafe is the second outpost for Uptown, which opened its first cafe in East Harlem in 2015.
Uptown Roasters' new cafe at 355 Seventh Ave. There's a private room in back that's ideal for small groups to meet. Photo: DNAinfo/Leslie Albrecht
Husband and wife team Dan and Shanna Hildebrandt run the business, which roasts coffee grown by Peruvian farmers at a roastery in East Harlem.
The Hildebrandts renovated the space — which was previously the Pepper Mill deli — and created a private room in the back of the cafe to accommodate small group meetings.
Shanna Hildebrandt, a former kindergarten teacher, said she envisions the space being used for tutoring, "circle time," or group events for both kids and adults. Kids from the nearby Brooklyn Game Lab were already using the room to play games Wednesday afternoon.
The neighborhood parenting group Park Slope Parents said Tuesday that the cafe's back room is "perfect" for baby groups and career meet-ups, and encouraged its members to check out the cafe.
"We want it to be a place where everyone feels welcome," Shanna Hildebrandt said.
In addition to coffee, espresso drinks and cold brew coffee, Uptown Roasters serves pastries from Balthazar and vegan muffins and flourless cake from East Harlem's Hot Bread Kitchen. The cafe also sells Uptown's roasted coffee; 1-pound bags are $17 to $20.
Roasted coffee at Uptown Roasters, 355 Seventh Ave. Photo: DNAinfo/Leslie Albrecht
Uptown Roasters is one of several new coffee options in the neighborhood. In November, Blue Bottle Coffee opened on Seventh Avenue and Third Street, and Everyman Espresso is expected to have a soft opening for its new cafe at 162 Fifth Ave. on Feb. 15. A new Starbucks replaced Flipster's on Seventh Avenue and Ninth Street this past fall.
Uptown Roasters will bring new activity to a stretch of Seventh Avenue that's seen a spate of businesses closing in recent months. Sport Prospect is due to close this month and 4 Play Brooklyn, Goldy + Mac, and A Shoe Grows in Brooklyn all closed recently.
Other recent Openings & Closings in the neighborhood include:
Flatbush Farm to Close at the End of the Month, Owner Says
Park Slope Shop Specializing in 'Brooklyn' Goods Closing After 29 Years
Owners of Park Slope's Closed Two Boots Pizza Opening Gowanus Restaurant
Longtime Women's Boutiques Goldy + Mac and Flirt Brooklyn Both Closing
6 New Restaurants on Park Slope's Fifth Avenue Open Now or Coming Soon
Morbid Anatomy Museum Closes as 'Good Press Doesn't Pay the Rent'
