Blackstone Coffee Roaster

The Local Coffee Shop that Brings Hospitality and Community to the West Village

By Isis O’Flynn-Shahaf

Sam and his son Ray behind the counter at Blackstone. Photo: Isis O’Flynn-Shahaf.

Blackstone Coffee Roaster
502 Hudson Street
If you walk around the cobblestone streets of the West Village on a Saturday or Sunday morning at around 9 a.m., you will find a never-ending line wrapping around the corner of Hudson and Christopher streets. Chattering locals anxiously wait for their steaming cup of drip coffee with cream, blueberry muffin, breakfast burrito, and most importantly, their morning chat with Sam.

Taking after his hard working father who opened Jessie’s Gourmet Deli and ran it from 1979-2011, Sam opened Blackstone Coffee Roaster in 2004 with the hope of establishing a family-run business that would present itself as a communal center for the West Village. Blackstone serves fresh house-brewed coffee, a variety of luxury espresso beverages (my favorite is their vanilla iced latte), protein packed sandwiches, warm, flaky pastries, refreshing smoothies, and a selection of other treats and beverages. So what makes this seemingly casual spot the most popular coffee shop in the neighborhood? The food and coffee are spectacular, but it’s truly the relationships that are formed with the friendly staff members that keep people coming.

While enjoying my regular iced latte and a warm cheese Danish, compliments of Sam, I began speaking to a man sitting next to me who was eating a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese, and sipping on a small hot coffee. Charles has been coming to Blackstone ever since they first opened. He said he comes here instead of the other plethora of coffee shops in the area “because of Sam.” Sam laughed at Charles’ comment and thanked him. I turned to Sam who was sitting across from me at our round, patio-style table in the outdoor seating structure and asked about the method to his success. “At other places, you’re just a number,” he said. “Here, we know you.” During our conversation, we would repeatedly be interrupted by an enthusiastic customer saying hi to Sam. There were a total of eight people who passed by and Sam greeted each of them: “How’s work going?” “You look amazing!” “I haven’t seen you in a while, where have you been?” If you’ve ever seen the TV show Gilmore Girls, you can think of Blackstone as the Luke’s Diner of the West Village.

When I think of my favorite restaurants and coffee shops, they all have great people and feel like home. It does not matter if a business has freshly imported Beluga caviar delivered on a shining silver platter…if the staff isn’t kind, the experience is destroyed. A coffee shop is always more than just a place to get coffee. It is a momentary escape from reality. It is somewhere you feel that you belong and are understood. The majority of Sam’s customers are not from the city, and Sam says, “This is their home.” Having a space that feels like an extension of your home matters more than having the most luxurious coffee beans. Especially in a city like New York where human interaction is brief, cold, and sometimes abrasive, the staff at Blackstone is like a breath of fresh air. Even if your day is going to be filled with chaotic excel sheets and micromanaging bosses, at least you can start your morning with a refreshing conversation at Blackstone.

Alex and Ray, Sam’s sons, started working at Blackstone when they graduated from college. They always know your order, greet you with a warm and authentic smile, and put you in a better mood than when you first came in. The routine of coming into your local coffee shop for your morning beverage is ritualistic, and without the right environment, the first parts of your day can be ruined. Sam recognizes how important authentic customer service is, “All of the customers that come here, they all have their own problems. At home, their job, family. They all come here to see me and I make them feel better.”

Sam raised Alex and Ray to live by the same principles that his father instilled in him: always follow his lead, customer service comes first, and cleanliness is key. The trio is an indomitable force on a weekend morning, with a horde of hungry people ordering multiple complex coffee orders and breakfast sandwiches. Even when there are 20 people waiting in line and the morning rush is hitting hard, Sam goes out of his way to make sure each guest feels seen and appreciated. Sam is grateful to be a part of the Hudson Street community, “My favorite part of my job is the people. Everyone is nice, professional, intelligent, and down to earth.”

As a fiercely loyal customer of Blackstone, I can verify that Sam and his sons take the time to know me beyond just my coffee order. I was 16 years old when Blackstone opened, and every morning on my way to school, I would stop to pick up my breakfast which consisted of an iced latte and a blueberry muffin. My order has remained the same for eight years. Sometimes, Sam would give me the muffin on the house, which meant a lot to a teenage girl who relied on a $50 weekly allowance to get her through the week. I took a small hiatus from Blackstone when I was in college in 2019, but when I returned in 2023, Sam immediately recognized me and asked me how my life had been. Ever since then, I have gone almost every single morning, even if the walk is out of my way.