StreetLevel: At the Lyceum, Coffee But no Klatsch
There hasn’t been much buzz about El Cafetin, the coffee shop at the Brooklyn Lyceum, despite the fact that it’s been open for a few months now. The café traffics in a standard assortment of brews, espresso drinks, and snacks, and it’s outfitted with a ragtag assortment of furniture (see photo on jump). Even though…
There hasn’t been much buzz about El Cafetin, the coffee shop at the Brooklyn Lyceum, despite the fact that it’s been open for a few months now. The café traffics in a standard assortment of brews, espresso drinks, and snacks, and it’s outfitted with a ragtag assortment of furniture (see photo on jump). Even though the space gets great natural light and has free wi-fi, it’s often deserted after the morning crush—surprising for a stretch with a not-so-small army of freelancers and very few coffee shop options. El Cafetin’s owner says he’s looking to raise the business’s profile by offering to-be-determined classes in the coming months. Think that’s the jolt this java joint needs? GMAP
All of the above. Better signage, better hours, better chairs, better publicity. They’re going to have to try much harder in order to draw any traffic away from Fifth Ave establishments.
I kind of think the whole Lyceum could do a better job with its advertising. I think it’s so great that they’ve cleaned the place up, and it’s such a great space – but it seems very mishmosh. One week it’s batting cages, then a trapeeze workshop, film festival, and there’s a coffee shop…It’s terrific that they have so much going on, but maybe one large unified professional-looking sign (not taped to the railing) would help convey that it’s a performance space (or whatever) as well as a coffee shop/cafe, as well as tell passersby what’s on for the week. I think that could do a lot to raise the profile and let the neighborhood know what a cool place it is.
Ah, not so much. Hasn’t this been a really lame attempt for almost ten years?
I agree that it is not obvious that this is a coffee shop from the outside. I’ve gone to see music there and had no idea that the building was even open during the day.
i live right around the corner and had no idea this place was there. maybe do a little advertising?!
The storefront in the picture makes me think it’s only part of the Lyceum and not a walk-in coffee shop. They should make sure that people are aware that it’s a coffee shop and that it functions independently of the Lyceum events. Potential clientele might not be aware of that.
Agreed about the chairs. I would get some nice plush chairs and maybe even some mix-and-match area rugs to make the place feel warmer and cozier.
those chairs aren’t terribly inviting. it looks too uncomfortable to plug in and work for a couple of hours.
Maybe it’s the fact that it closes at 3pm? What kind of business hours are those?