Eleva Coffee re-opens with new interior + menu

The shop is now open after making significant interior renovations

Eleva Coffee’s first full-service location just got a whole new look. Eleva is back with more than just a coffee shop. With a training lab, a fulfillment center for online and wholesale business in the back, and expanded seating along with a refined menu up front, Eleva has redesigned itself so that neighbors can grab breakfast, sit down to lunch, or relax over a warm latte.

In the new menu there’s something for everyone: coffee and a doughnut combo for $5, avocado toast or a homemade hummus for the healthy eater, hot pressed sandwiches, plus fresh cookies and pastries from Nick + Sons. The food comes with credentials as well, chef Raffaello Van Couten operates two Williamsburg favorites: Midnights and Claudia’s. Enjoy it all in a lounge inspired space with new couches and tables for some mindful time alone or a casual spot to meet a friend.

Read about Eleva’s initial opening back in May—where their focus has remained with giving back to the communities that grow their coffee—and read about our pop-up with Eleva from the spring.

You can also see owners Raffaello and Emilio in our video promoting small business owners on Grand Street below.

Grand Street gives back with holiday food drive

13 Grand Street businesses are collecting food donations for the holiday season

Grand Street businesses are giving back to the community December 1st through 19th by participating in the Grand Street BID's 3rd annual Grand Street Holiday Food Drive. 13 small businesses will host collection boxes for non-perishable food items to be donated to families in the St. John the Evangelist (195 Maujer Street) food pantry program.
The food is used to help the 150-200 weekly recipients of the parish’s hot meal program as well as their food pantry which serves 20-30 families, all of whom live here in the Grand Street neighborhood. The most typical recipients are senior citizens on fixed incomes and working families whose combined incomes don’t allow for full meals by the end of the month. Over the last two years, the food drive has collected and donated 852lbs of food.

You can bring non perishable donations to the following businesses:

• Burnside (506 Grand Street)

• Carneval (507 Grand Street)

• The Laundry Taxi (578 Grand Street)

• Empire Lock (648 Grand Street)

• Eleva Coffee (649 Grand Street)

• The Sandwich Shop (658 Grand Street)

• Brooklyn Dental Professionals (700 Grand Street)

• Los Primos Restaurant (704 Grand Street)

• Forum (717 Grand Street)

• Absolute Power Fitness (750 Grand Street)

• Bravo Supermarket (785 Grand Street)

• Z2A Repair (793 Grand Street)

• Groomers & Pomade (796 Grand Street)

To donate, just stop by any of our participating businesses and drop the food items in the holiday wrapped collection box. That’s it! Use the list below to pick out groceries at a participant like Bravo Supermarket (785 Grand Street) to check out and donate in one trip. Perishable and pre-cooked foods will be also collected by us (246 Graham Ave) so you can pick up a warm meal from any restaurant to help a small business and a hungry family.

Items that are especially helpful are as follows: Canned vegetables, breakfast cereals, peanut butter, oatmeal, rice, beans, canned fish, baby formula + food, granola bars, raisins + dried fruit. Also, pre-cooked meals or food that can be eaten without much heating or cooking required.

*Bring perishables to our office at 246 Graham Avenue between 10am to 5pm. Please call ahead of time at 718-218-8836.

Meet the Grand Street BID: Win prizes

The Grand Street BID is partnering with local businesses to talk to shoppers on the street

The BID spoke with families while passing out free coffee + treats.

Look out for the logo to stop and chat with one of our neighborhood staff about the community while enjoying free treats. On a sunny Saturday this past month, the BID took the streets to share Eleva Coffee, Nick + Sons croissants, and spin a prize wheel for raffles + tote bags.

As part of the Grand Street Neighborhood Initiative, the BID wants to expand our reach to have conversations directly with shoppers and residents of the corridor. We collected feedback through community surveys to see what Grand Street patrons wanted to see next.

Shoppers who completed the survey or signed up for our newsletter spun a prize wheel for tote bags, sweets, or raffles of $50 to a Grand Street restaurant + 2lbs of Eleva coffee beans. Seen below, our winners, Ramona ($50 to Le Barricou) and Tiffany (Eleva coffee) are both residents of the Grand Street community.

Follow @grandstreetbid to find out where + when the next pop-up will be. The BID will continue to partner with our businesses this summer to chat + listen to you.

Winners of $50 to Le Barricou from our pop-up raffle

Grand Street business owners share their stories in lead up to street murals

The BID spoke with businesses as part of the Grand Street Neighborhood Initiative

The Sandwich Shop owners Clarisa + Ricardo

Why do businesses decide to open on Grand Street? What makes this neighborhood special as opposed to the limitless commercial corridors in NYC? The Grand Street BID serves to beautify the neighborhood + improve quality of life for businesses and shoppers, and as part of that effort we are commissioning street art murals at some of our intersections this June.

As part of that project, we wanted to use the opportunity to get to the heart of what makes this neighborhood worth taking care of in the first place. So we sat down with business owners on Grand Street to talk about the community in anticipation of the streetscape improvements. We asked questions such as “What’s your favorite memory on Grand Street?”, “Why did you open a business here?”, and “Where are you from originally?” to get a clearer picture of Grand Street’s rich diversity and attractiveness to entrepreneurs.

We talked to a variety of businesses, from old timers Bahia Restaurant & Café + Empire Lock, established businesses The Sandwich Shop + Noorman’s Kil, and newcomers Eleva Coffee + King Kog. We also interviewed some residents and property owners for their perspective on the neighborhood. The interviews will be pieced together with documentation of the painting to be released with the completion of the murals as part of the Grand Street Neighborhood Initiative.

Shawn + Anna Maria (King Kog) discussed how they bring infrastructure to NYC streets. Raffaello + Emilio (Eleva) shared their personal connection living in the neighborhood. Luis (Bahia) explained how he’s seen the neighborhood change and how his business has adapted. Melinda (resident) spoke about her move to Grand Street 20+ years ago. There are so many stories to be told by the tenants of Grand Street, and through this documentary, the BID is proud to give those voices a platform.

Stay tuned for the documentary this summer and look out for art popping up throughout Grand Street in the coming months.

Eleva Coffee Finds a Homecoming on Grand Street

Co-owner Raffaello Van Couten is proud to bring Eleva Coffee to his home neighborhood

Eleva’s inside offers space to work, meet friends, + relax

Eleva Coffee has just expanded to their new home at 649 Grand Street, which in many ways is where their story began. While Eleva has been in business for a little under 2 years, it opened its first storefront on
N 8th street in October.

Emilio Baltodano founded Eleva when seeking to merge ethically sourced coffee with consumer friendly prices, so he used his prior 15 years in the coffee trading business to connect with rural communities in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Ethiopia. Using his past coffee industry experience, Emilio built a sustainable model that pays Eleva’s farmers above market-rate and invests significantly in building up the infrastructure and schools in the communities they farm.

After founding Eleva, Emilio met now co-owner Raffaello Van Couten by providing Eleva’s coffee to Van Couten’s Williamsburg restaurant, Midnights. Van Couten has lived on Grand Street for over 10 years, and even partners with local biz Willy B Crossfit (667 Grand St) on culinary side projects. When Van Couten and Willy B came into the fold of the Eleva project, Grand Street seemed like the natural next destination for the shop.

Raffaello and Emilio consider Grand Street an integral part of their business today, and they are entrenching their coffee in the community with special discounts for Grand Street residents and baked goods from neighborhood bakery Nick + Sons.

Welcome Eleva to the neighborhood by trying “The Grand” sandwich special asking for your $1 off discount for living in the community.

Emilo ensures Eleva’s coffee is farm-to-cup with close relationships to their farming communites