Ninth Street Espresso
Coffee · 4+ locations · NYC: Alphabet City, Tompkins Square, Gowanus, Long Island City
Ninth Street Espresso helped invent New York's third-wave coffee scene in 2001, and founder Kenneth Nye still owns all four of its shops today. It roasts its own beans at a Long Island City micro-roastery and sources directly from named farms, including Brazil's Rainforest Alliance-certified Daterra.
The Big Picture
Ninth Street Espresso is still owned outright by Kenneth Nye, the founder who opened it in 2001, with no investor, acquisition, or professional CEO ever documented in 25 years. Its coffee sourcing is concretely documented, including direct trade with named farms like Brazil's Rainforest Alliance-certified Daterra, though as a four-shop independent it has little public labor or environmental track record to date. It answers to Nye, not outside investors.
The Dirty Details
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Explore all coffeeCompany data last updated September 2026
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