Profile

Thirty years after its 1973 opening, founder Allan Mehlberg sold his urban general store to long-time employees Karen Hue and Victoria Cook. Coffee and tea (the latter comes loose leaf or boxed) remain the main draws yet the current owners have gone on to carefully stock nearly every inch of their tiny, tall-ceilinged shop with a treasure trove of household goods. Now bathmats, coasters, and tea kettles fill the wooden shelves alongside gourmet foods such as American Spoon Preserves and Italian chocolates. White House Coffee from Queens is the primary bean supplier (as it has been since the store opened) but each day one of the nearly 100 other blends—from Canada's Kicking Horse to End the Embargo on Cuba—is featured as the daily special. — Pervaiz Shallwani