Photo: Dave Cook / Eating In Translation
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Luckin Coffee, the Chinese coffee chain that has surpassed Starbucks in its home market, has opened at 2799 Broadway at the corner of West 108th Street, the former home of Cascabel Taqueria. The chain announced the opening on its U.S. Instagram account, and in the same post revealed another new Manhattan location at 41st Street and Lexington Avenue.
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The Upper West Side store is part of an aggressive expansion that has accelerated dramatically since Luckin first arrived in the United States. The company opened its first two American locations in June 2025, both in Manhattan—one in Greenwich Village near NYU and another in NoMad. By September, that number had grown to five. According to a recent report from Patch, the chain now boasts more than 10 locations throughout New York City—a remarkable pace for a brand that has been in the U.S. market for less than a year.Founded in Beijing in 2017, Luckin built its empire on a tech-first model that bears little resemblance to a traditional coffeehouse. The company operates shops, stores, and kiosks that offer coffee, tea, and food, generally at lower prices than their competitors, and purchases can only be made using an online app. There are no cashiers and no registers. Customers download the Luckin app, place an order, pay digitally (Apple Pay and PayPal are both supported), and pick up their drinks at the counter.
That model has made the brand a juggernaut. By 2019, Luckin’s stores outnumbered Starbucks locations in China, and as of July 2025, the company had 26,206 stores globally. In 2023, Luckin reported annual revenue of 24.9 billion yuan ($3.48 billion), surpassing Starbucks’ China revenue of around $3.16 billion.
The rise hasn’t been without serious turbulence. In April 2020, Luckin revealed that it had inflated its 2019 sales revenue by up to $310 million. The fallout was swift: the stock price crashed, several executives were fired, and the company was delisted from NASDAQ on June 29, 2020. Luckin filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in February 2021, then spent the next two years rebuilding. The company emerged from bankruptcy in 2022 after replacing most of its top management, who were held accountable for the earlier fraud.
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The product strategy is part of what’s powered the comeback. Chinese chains like Luckin combine budget pricing with unusual flavors that often blur the line between coffee and bubble tea. Luckin’s alcohol-infused latte, developed with Chinese liquor maker Moutai, sold more than 5.4 million cups on its first day in 2023, generating over $13.7 million in sales, and the company launched 119 different items in 2024 alone.That same appetite for novelty is on full display at the new Upper West Side store. Luckin recently rolled out three new limited-edition drinks across its NYC locations: a Sea Salt Caramel Latte (hot and iced), a Sea Salt Caramel Cold Brew topped with sea salt caramel cold foam, and a Yuzu Matcha Sparkling Water blending Japanese first flush matcha with citrusy yuzu. The standard menu includes Americanos, lattes, matchas, cold brews, “fruity americano” drinks, and a small selection of pastries.
Pricing is competitive with rivals, and the company has been known to court new customers with steep app-only promotions—at earlier NYC openings, drinks could be ordered through the app for $1.99.
The 2799 Broadway space takes over from Cascabel Taqueria, the Mexican restaurant that was a longtime favorite of Columbia students and neighborhood residents before closing. The Upper West Side location is also part of a broader wave of Chinese beverage brands setting up shop in the West 100s near Columbia, joining recent arrivals NaiSnow on Amsterdam Avenue and Molly Tea, which recently opened at 2857 Broadway (between West 110th and West 111th streets).
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