Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Chelsea Becomes First NYC Shop to Unionize

Starbucks’ unionization wave is building momentum in NYC. CNBC reports that Starbucks Reserve Roastery — the massive, three-story “coffee theme park” in Chelsea — voted to unionize on Friday, April 1. The shop is the first location in NYC to unionize, and the tenth store to do so in the U.S.

The coffee chain has been undergoing an unprecedented unionization push within the past year. Over 150 stores have filed for union elections in the U.S., according to CNBC, sparked by early success from shops in Buffalo, New York, despite Starbucks’ alleged union-busting efforts. Other NYC locations, including an Astor Place shop in Manhattan, are currently in the process of holding union elections.

Trailblazing cocktail bar Angel’s Share officially closes

After weeks of speculation, East Village cocktail legend Angel’s Share has officially shut down as of March 31, according to EV Grieve. Village Yokocho, the Japanese restaurant that also served as the front entrance to the speakeasy-style bar, has also closed down. Elsewhere on the Cooper Union-leased property, Japanese market Sunrise Mart shut down on April 3 — although it maintains other three other locations in the city — and bakery Panya remains open for now.

Protestors show up on Nespresso’s doorstep in Soho

Protestors gathered outside of Nestle-owned Nespresso in Soho on Sunday, April 3, to rally against to what they see as the company’s “war profiteering” by continuing to do business with Russia amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, AMNewYork reports. The publication notes that, on its website, Nestle states that they “are fully complying with all international sanctions on Russia.”

Update: April 6, 2022, 11:40 a.m.: Nespresso has temporarily frozen its imports to Russia, according to a company spokesperson. “Nespresso has suspended all our imports into Russia,” the spokesperson said in an email. “Therefore, we have temporarily suspended the commercial operations of our boutiques, our app and our website in the country.”

Another speakeasy rears its head in NYC

Apparently, there’s always room for another speakeasy — or, faux speakeasy — in NYC. On the Upper East Side, upscale cocktail bar Keys & Heels looks like a locksmith and shoe-repair shop from the outside but unfolds into a low-lit, brick-walled bar with $20 cocktails and $12 pigs in a blanket, according to the New York Post. Restaurateur Massimo Lusardi of next-door Italian spots Uva and Uva Next Door is running the show at Keys & Heels.