Blank Street, the Coffee Chain Backed by Millions in Venture Capital Funding, Is Unionizing

Blank Street Coffee, the inescapable start-up backed by millions in venture capital funding and the owners of Rockefeller Center, is unionizing. Employees of the rapidly expanding chain have voted to unionize at 26 of its 40 locations in New York in a bid to protect positive working conditions that include competitive pay and career advancement opportunities within the company, Hell Gate reports. “A lot of us like our jobs,” Jay Balentine, an employee at a Blank Street location in Downtown Brooklyn, tells the publication. “It’s definitely not an Amazon or Starbucks kind of energy. There’s a reason we’re unionizing instead of quitting.” The union efforts date back to at least January when the company’s Williamsburg location voted to unionize under United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500.

A Los Angeles coffee roaster is coming to town

Dayglow, a popular coffee brand based in Los Angeles, is headed to New York City. The company lists a location at 8 Wilson Avenue, between Noll Street and Flushing Avenue, as “coming soon” on its website, and founder Tohm Ifergan confirms that the Bushwick space will open this summer with an all-day cafe, taproom, and brewery. Dayglow distributes beans from more than a dozen roasters, including Denmark’s acclaimed La Cabra, which opened its first U.S. location here in 2021; it also brews beer under the label Niteglow.

A popular Middle Eastern restaurant moves after years

Moustache Pitza, a crowded Middle Eastern restaurant known for its pita pizzas, has relocated to 29 Seventh Avenue South, between Leroy and Morton streets, in the West Village. In June, the American model Bella Hadid posted that the decades-old restaurant would be forced to leave its home in Greenwich Village because its landlord would not renew its lease. Restaurant manager Rakan Droubi confirmed the plans to relocate at the time. Moustache is open at its new address from noon to 11 p.m. daily.

A sandwich shop staple finds a new home

Cheeky Sandwiches is bringing its fried chicken biscuits, oyster po’ boys, and other sandwiches inspired by New Orleans to the food hall that includes Market Line and Essex Street Market on the Lower East Side. The shop, which recently concluded a pop-up at 119 Essex Street, near Rivington Street, announced the location of its new home in an Instagram post this week. The stall is under construction but should be open “very soon,” according to the post.