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Opening Hours
Today: Closed
Wed:
11am–10:30pm
Thurs:
11am–11:30pm
Fri:
11am–11:30pm
Sat:
11am–11:30pm
Sun:
11am–5pm
Mon:
Closed
Location
231 East 9th Street
Neighborhoods
Hi Collar 1 Bars Coffee Shops Japanese East Village

Serving an interesting but decadent assortment of coffees, hot cakes, desserts, Japanese tapas, sandwiches, pasta, and more, Hi-Collar functions as many things. In the morning the atmosphere is subdued and relaxed like a coffee shop, as customers come to enjoy “kissaten” – a term to describe Japanese-style coffee shops. The lady we spoke to at Hi-Collar told us their coffee selection is extensive and that there are a variety of beans to choose from. Not only is there the opportunity to select the bean varietal, but one can also choose how the coffee is made as well: pour over, aeropress, or siphon—each method drawing out a distinct flavor. For the non-coffee drinker, there are teas and even a fruit milkshake.

As the afternoon wears on and evening approaches, Hi-Collar becomes a bar complete with wine, sake, and beer. Inquiring about the name, we found that Hi-Collar is in fact a term that came to be during the Japanese Jazz Age, when Western culture infiltrated Japan and many men were seen wearing Western style high collars. The only seating available is at the long bar, and the beautiful flowers and lamps that hang from the ceiling add to the allure of this multifaceted nook on 10th.

Location
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Hi Collar 1 Bars Coffee Shops Japanese East Village
Hi Collar 2 Bars Coffee Shops Japanese East Village
Hi Collar 3 Bars Coffee Shops Japanese East Village
Hi Collar 4 Bars Coffee Shops Japanese East Village
Hi Collar 5 Bars Coffee Shops Japanese East Village
Hi Collar 6 Bars Coffee Shops Japanese East Village
Hi Collar 7 Bars Coffee Shops Japanese East Village
Hi Collar 8 Bars Coffee Shops Japanese East Village
Hi Collar 9 Bars Coffee Shops Japanese East Village
Hi Collar 10 Bars Coffee Shops Japanese East Village
Hi Collar 11 Bars Coffee Shops Japanese East Village

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More places on 9th Street

Lost Gem
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Veselka

The warmly painted walls inside Veselka envelop the room in folky florals and traditional Ukrainian symbols. Hanging from the ceiling are glowing milk glass globes that seem to replace the sun or moon depending on the time of day — and it could be any time at all, as Veselka is open for twenty-four hours, seven days a week, serving a smorgasbord of pierogis, bowls of borscht, and other expertly prepared comfort foods — Ukrainian and otherwise. Wlodymyr Darmochwal planted roots for Veselka when, as one of the founders of the neighborhood Plast organization (akin to the Ukrainian boy scouts, teaching survival skills and Ukrainian language), he was asked to create a weekend study program for the boys. In response, he opened a five-and-dime style counter at the corner of East 9th Street and Second Avenue where the boys could buy paper clips, cigarettes, lighters, and, notably, bowls of borscht and other basic Ukrainian foods. The business expanded into another storefront on East 9th Street a decade later. After Wlodymyr’s passing in 1972, it was taken over by his stepson, Tom Birchard, who was later joined by his son, Jason. Today, having worked at the restaurant since he was a teenager, Jason has “done every single job possible here except cook the borscht. ”When Jason joined the team, one of his first projects was to find out, “How late can we stay open? ” It turns out the answer was “all night. ” As Tom and Jason once again prepare to expand the restaurant into an adjoining storefront on 9th Street, they are eager to continue serving the next generation the kind of traditional Ukrainian food that Wlodymyr would have had at his counter more than sixty years ago.

Lost Gem
Duo 1 Women's Clothing Vintage undefined

Duo NYC

The essence of Duo is in its name; it is two things at once. It is dulled colors and clean lines, minimalist in feel but simultaneously filled with warmth and softness. Both young and old, vibrant and calm, it is modern and fresh but brings to mind memories of simpler times: of handwritten letters, cozy Sunday afternoons and soft breezes over the wide open fields of northern Minnesota, the owners’ home state. Conflicting and complementing all at once, Duo is the product of two minds at work. Sisters Wendy and LaRae Kangas have created a perfect little fashion oasis that fits right in with the small town vibes of Manhattan’s East Village. Growing up, Wendy and LaRae pestered each other and fought over clothes, as siblings will do, but in 2008 they decided to open up a shop together. Today, they work with dealers and emerging independent designers throughout the country and pick all their clothing, accessories and home goods by hand, combining masculine and feminine styles with modern silhouettes and vintage traces to curate a timeless collection of quality, classic pieces. “It’s a very personal process, ” they told me, “and we put a lot of love into our shop and our collections. ” Nothing at Duo is mass-produced, and most of their merchandise is recycled. The sisters pour their hearts into the shop and work hard to stay true to themselves while keeping an eye toward the future, expanding their business into the world of e-commerce and social media. “It’s important to stay current and give the customers what they want, ” they said. They love what they do, and working with family makes it even more fun, according to the sisters. “It makes work smooth when you don’t have to verbalize what you’re thinking, ” they told me, “We just know what each other is thinking and it makes choosing products and daily operations much easier. ”Duo is a celebration of creative spirit. It is clear that the sisters revel in the one-of-a-kind individuality of each and every one of their customers who come to them looking for pieces that will express their own unique style. When explaining what they love about their work, they said, “It’s great to make a customer feel better when they walk out the door. ”

Lost Gem
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Pillow-Cat Books

Tucked into a cozy storefront on E9th Street, Pillow-Cat Books is — for any literary-minded animal lover — the cat’s meow. Guarded by the shop’s namesake cat, the bookstore opened by author Cleo Le-Tan is the city’s first animal-themed bookshop, offering new, used and vintage books across genre and language with one uniting theme — at least one animal or animal character within its pages. Cleo, a New York-based writer and the daughter of famed New Yorker illustrator Pierre Le-Tan, was inspired to open Pillow-Cat Books in September 2021 after working on A Book Lover’s Guide to New York, itself a charming tribute to the Big Apple’s best independent bookstores. “I interviewed people who have bookshops, and then I realized, ‘Oh, I want my own! ” she told the Manhattan Sideways team when we happened upon her eclectic collection one sunny Friday. She began to curate and source a stock of animal-themed works, finding special joy in hard-to-find tomes from years past. “I love vintage children’s books from the 1950s and 1960s, ” said Cleo, surrounded by books available to shop by category of animal as well as subject matter. Cleo told Manhattan Sideways that settling down in the East Village on 9th Street among the block’s many other speciality retail shops was one of her favorite parts about running Pillow-Cat. “I think it's a really nice block — I like how many independent, unique shops there are, ” she noted. “It’s a fun block because you get people coming from Tompkins Square Park who are friendly and local, but you also get visitors. ” We’d have to agree — as we browsed the shop, we already noticed several grateful visitors building their own stacks, making sure to give Pillow-Cat a pet on their way out. 

More Coffee Shops nearby

Lost Gem
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Peridance Capezio Center

Peridance Capezio Center is a mecca for dance in NYC, fostering the arts in the local and international dance communities, for over 30 years. Peridance offers multiple platforms for dancers and non-dancers alike, including more than 250 weekly open classes, a Professional Training Programs, an F-1 Visa Program for International Students, and The School at Peridance - a comprehensive children and teen program. Their adult open classes are offered in all styles and levels, from Absolute Beginner to Advanced. Peridance Capezio Center is also home to the professional dance company, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company and its affiliated Peridance Youth Ensemble. In conjunction with their renowned faculty and partners (Capezio, Djoniba Dance Centre, Limón Dance Company, Baila Society, and Dance Informa), Peridance has gained an international reputation for the programs it offers. The Center is housed in a beautiful landmark building featuring six spacious studios, The Salvatore Capezio Theater, the Peridance Coffee Shop, and the Capezio dance-wear Boutique. One afternoon, I had the privilege of stopping by the Peridance Capezio Center to observe their students training. I witnessed the explosive athleticism and technical discipline at play in Shannon Gillen’s Advanced Contemporary class, as students tested the strength of their bodies in an array of conditioning and floor exercises. Later, in the large upstairs Studio 1, bathed in the sun’s rays from the skylights above, I watched as dancers chasséd and pirouetted across the room in Breton Tyner-Bryan’s Advanced-Intermediate Ballet class. I would not be surprised to find any one of these talented performers on stage someday.

Lost Gem
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787 Coffee

Sam Sepulveda grins as he talks about working in 787 Coffee’s new location in the East Village. “Here, when I’m doing the barista position, I get to tell the story, and people really enjoy that. Because most of the time you don’t know where your coffee’s coming from. And for me, it’s really fulfilling to say, ‘Hey, we planted this tree. ’ These beans are my babies. ”787 Coffee is a small and cozy cafe, with a wall of windows gazing out at 7th Street, and exposed wood beams crossing the ceiling. The coffee mugs and bags are decorated with images of old San Juan, colorful buildings that evoke Sam’s favorite place in Puerto Rico. Manhattan Sideways opted to try a cortado and a seasonal pumpkin latte. Rich and buttery, the coffee was the perfect treat for a chilly autumn afternoon. In 2014, Sam and his partner, Brandon Pena, purchased an abandoned coffee farm in Maricao, Puerto Rico. Located in a secluded region high in the mountains, the population of Maricao had been dwindling over the years as the agricultural industry that once formed the bedrock of its economy faded and young people moved away in search of jobs. Sam and Brandon picked the location, in addition to the quality of its land for coffee-growing, in the hopes that their business would have a positive impact on the community. They employ locals and follow higher than fair trade standards. “What we pay our workers in an hour, sometimes they pay that in Africa or South America in a two-day shift. So we’re making a difference there. We’re making a difference in their lives. ”Neither Sam nor Brandon was a coffee expert at the start, so they traveled the world learning how to grow and make coffee. The pair started out by selling green (a. k. a. un-roasted) beans before deciding to go vertical in 2016. Now they handle every aspect of the coffee-making process themselves, from planting and harvesting to roasting to latte art. The journey has not been without its setbacks. In 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated 787 Coffee’s plantation, destroying 92% of the crop or approximately 30, 000 trees. The hurricane also forced them to close their first coffeeshop in Maricao, but the pair has not let that slow them down: they managed to salvage as much coffee as they could from the wreckage and, as of the fall of 2018, were in the process of replanting. And then, at that same time, after several successful pop-up cafes, they opened their first permanent New York City coffeeshop in the East Village. Like every aspect of their business so far, the coffeeshop is first and foremost about the people. They want it to be a place where guests feel welcomed and at home, where the environment warms them as much as the drinks. “We don’t sell you a cup of coffee, ” Sam says, “We sell you an experience. ”