Forest City Ratner Companies’ Frank Gehry-designed “New York by Gehry” at 8 Spruce Street has signed a specialty coffee shop as its sole retail tenant.
Birch Coffee, founded in NYC in 2009, will occupy the 906 s/f space at the base of the 899-unit luxury rental tower
Birch Coffee will make its debut at 8 Spruce Street in late 2015.
The shop’s entrepreneurs Jeremy Lyman and Paul Schlader have gained a loyal following with their emphasis on superior customer service and premium roasts. They now operate in four locations in New York City, including Chelsea, the Upper West Side, the Upper East Side and the West Village.
The 8 Spruce outpost will be Birch Coffee’s first location below Canal Street. The company plans to grow its brand throughout the city.
Forest City Ratner Companies Vice President Scott Walsh said “We’re truly excited to welcome Birch Coffee to 8 Spruce Street. Jeremy and Paul have a passion for excellent service and coffee — plus they have great style and a refined aesthetic that makes Birch a perfect fit for a Frank Gehry building. Our residents are going to love having this amenity so close to home.”
Lyman said, “We’re beyond excited to be opening a Birch Coffee outpost in Frank Gehry’s stunning tower and to be part of the Financial District’s extraordinary transformation to a live, work, shop, 24/7 neighborhood.”
The public will enter the new space from Beekman Street, at the southwest corner of the residential tower. Forest City Ratner Companies alumnus Lon Rubackin of CBRE represented Forest City Ratner in the transaction. Kyle Allen of Synapse Capital represented Birch Coffee.
