‘Granddaddy’ of Coffee Shops Just Opened on Grand Street

The Grand Daddy of coffee shops is now up and running. That being a new establishment at the northeast corner of Grand and Eldridge Streets.

Granddaddy, as it’s called, signed a lease for lion’s share of retail real estate at the newly constructed 290 Grand Street, and is now serving coffee and pastries. The interior is dotted with a half-dozen tables and chairs, and is somewhat sparse at the moment. A chalkboard greeting welcomes neighbors to say “we’re open.”

The addition of a trendy coffee shop here is not a surprise, though. It’s textbook, plucked directly from the gentrification playbook for a block undergoing transition. First come the galleries and coffee shops, then the rents are too high for the longtimers. Indeed, the stretch between Allen and Chrystie Streets is swiftly transforming into a gallery district in real time.

290 Grand Street went under the knife two years ago, resulting in the loss of the Lok Sing Chinese Restaurant. As previously reported, Hungarian-based escape room PanIQ took 3,000 square-feet split between two of the other ground-level stores and the full basement.