‘Kodawari’ Coffee Shop Starts Grinding at 100 Forsyth Street
Gentrification 101: When upscaling a building on the Lower East Side, install a trendy coffee shop on the ground floor. Maybe even add a little gallery art as flare.
That seems to be the narrative at 100 Forsyth Street, too, an address plagued with retail problems in recent years, likely due to ongoing renovations. Something called Kodawari just opened in the southernmost store, in what previously hosted C.W. Pencil Enterprises. The java joint opened last week, and appears to be a “white box” affair. It offers what you might expect – a variety of specialty coffees, teas, and espresso drinks.
One question to ponder – will Kodawari remain a coffee shop or ditch daytime hours to become a wine bar like Lena did around the corner on Eldridge Street?
As previously reported, C.W. Pencil Enterprises opened at 100 Forsyth Street back in March 2015, nearly a year before Veracity Real Estate purchased the twin tenements and began renovating. It relocated to Orchard Street last fall after flooding in the building allegedly caused a major mold infestation. The same problem that took out its basement-mate, Birds & Bubbles.
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