Roots & Vines, drink bar, is the new immigrant on the Lower East Side
New York, NY -- Roots & Vines, a drink bar that serves coffee, espresso, beer, wine, sangria and wine cocktails recently added an affordable street food and brunch menu with food from coffee growing regions around the world. On a section of Grand Street that has experienced an influx of young families, professionals and hipsters since the deregulation of Cooperative Village (a group of 4 massive brick apartment complexes) in the late 1990s, Roots & Vines has staked a toehold as the neighborhood joint amid the amalgamation of old and new in this part of the City.
In its open, airy and contemporary space notable for its communal white oak table, stainless steel bar, industrial French café chairs and sidewalk cafe, morning guests perk up with rich espresso roasted by Counter Culture Coffee and fresh pastries from Eli Zabar's; young parents with their children get a quick bite to start the day, and writers and students take advantage of the free wi-fi to work on their laptops while munching on street food snacks as the day wears on.
At night, returning commuters, couples and event-goers off to see a show at Abrons Art Center sample street food offerings including summer rolls, an Asian chicken salad, Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, Mexican tortas and tacos, all of which are $10 or less. Singles at the bar get a quick bite of the Saigon burgers with a side of chili-spiced fries during happy hour while having the option to sample over 50 diverse offerings of wine and international beers ('33' Export from Vietnam, Imperial from Costa Rica, Aguila from Colombia, and Tiger from Singapore to name a few).
"Here at Roots, we've tried to craft a wholesome, earthy, hearty street food and drink menu that gets back to basics" says Nguyen (Win) Huynh who owns Roots & Vines with his wife, Natalie Krodel. "Our coffee roaster builds sustainable relationships with its coffee farmers, our wines come from smaller vineyards, the beer list is diverse and the street foods are true to their origins: flavorful and a good value."
For more information or to set up a site visit or tasting, please contact Owner Natalie Krodel by phone at (646) 342-3717 or email at natalie@rootsandvinesnyc.com
Background, Story and Résumés
Natalie Krodel was in the first wave of newcomers when she moved to her neighborhood in 2000. At the time, she was working as a successful media attorney, but on the walk from the subway she could not escape the feeling that a coffee shop on Grand Street could be successful. From 2000-2003, Natalie laid the groundwork for her idea. Natalie and her family were coffee fanatics but she knew that enthusiasm was not enough. Scouting trips to Oregon and Washington were made to tour coffee roasters and experience West Coast style coffee which seemed ahead of the New York palate. "At that time, the average New Yorker was used to a 50 cent deli coffee that tasted something like dishwater. I was aiming a bit higher in wanting to bring fresh roasted, specialty coffee to the Lower East Side" Natalie says. "I also learned a great deal about the coffee growing industry and realized that I wanted to find coffee beans that not only tasted good, but that also came from a roaster with the right business practices; it took a while, but we were able to find a quality, independent roaster that had cultivated fair and sustainable relationships with small-scale coffee farmers." I knew our coffee would cost more," she says, "but I was hoping the taste would win people over." After months of hard work writing a business plan, arranging financing and negotiating a lease, Full City Coffee was born in 2003.
The coffee bar received acclaim and good reviews with a nomination by Time Out for "Best Coffee" the year after it opened, consecutive nominations for "Best Coffeehouse" by AOL Cityguide and several print articles written about its bestselling drink: cold-brewed iced coffee. "The coffee bar clientele has always been a great mix of new and old residents in the neighborhood. But this fall was our 5th anniversary and we thought the time was right to expand our evening hours and offer a wholesome, hearty and affordable street food menu to accompany our espresso and coffee drinks which already included a Vietnamese iced coffee, a Thai iced tea and a spiced Mexican hot chocolate during the winter months. Over the summer we decided to renovate and make the name change from Full City Coffee to Roots & Vines" Natalie relates. The "Roots" in Roots & Vines is about serving flavorful and affordable street food and drink that is hearty, wholesome, earthy and comforting. "Roots" also has its origins with Nguyen's grandmother who ran a popular café in South Vietnam outside of the beach resort of Nha Trang and his exposure to authentic Vietnamese and Mexican food from his upbringing in Orange County, California, home to the largest expatriate Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam, and college years spent at Berkeley and the Mission District in San Francisco.
Nguyen says, "My grandmother had a popular café on the main highway from Saigon to Nha Trang. Her caf´ was a popular roadside stop and she started incorporating innovations like using individual serving portafilters for Vietnamese coffee before their use was widespread. When we finalized the street food concept, I realized that I was following in my grandmother's footsteps and having "Roots" in the name of the store just felt right."
Since its opening in September 2008, Roots & Vines has been successful in maintaining its old customers while attracting the newcomers to the neighborhood. Like the waves of immigrants who have come through the Lower East Side in the past, Roots & Vines is the new immigrant to the neighborhood and its food and drink offerings are as diverse as the neighborhood and clientele that it serves.
