Japan-Born Coffee Spot Replacing Andy’s Deli on Columbus Ave

A premier Columbus Avenue corner which has sat idle for more than a year will soon be home to a Japan-born coffee brand with an international presence.

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% Arabica is planning its next location – which will be its third in New York City – at 418 Columbus Avenue (West 80th Street), previously home to Andy’s Deli until it closed after serving the neighborhood for over forty years.

The new spot will join local storefronts in Dumbo and Nolita, along with more than 175 global locations.

READ MORE: New Chinese Restaurant to Open on West 86th Street

% Arabica was founded by Kenneth Shoji, whose first step in launching a global coffee business was the purchase of a coffee farm in Hawaii. In 2014, Shoji opened the flagship % Arabica store in Kyoto, Japan.

“Back then I had been frustrated that most coffee shops in Japan were copycats of Melbourne or Portland cafés,” Shoji told Forbes in 2021. “The enthusiastic reactions to the Kyoto shop convinced me that I could build a global coffee brand that is uniquely Japanese.”

Representatives from Parkbench Architects, a Brooklyn-based firm handling the design of the forthcoming shop, presented architectural plans at a recent Community Board 7 meeting. A presentation to the Landmark Preservation Commission is scheduled for January 9.

“Our goal is to restore the corner space to a kind of material luxury that speaks to the original design intent of the building,” said Winter D’Angelillo of Parkbench.

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Beautifully designed storefronts that fit into their surroundings are one of the core tenets of % Arabica. You can view the brand’s existing NYC stores here.

“% Arabica is about my love for coffee, design, and seeing the world,” Shoji writes on the % Arabica website. He cites his early experience traveling the world as, “ultimately helping to inspire my love of multiculturalism, design and architecture.”

The UWS store is expected to include entrances on both West 80th Street and Columbus Avenue. Renderings presented can be viewed below. No timetable for construction or a grand opening was provided.