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Sey Coffee

Coffee · 1 location · Brooklyn: Bushwick

A single Bushwick roastery-café run entirely by its two founders, with zero outside investors in any record. Baristas start at $28 an hour, no tipping required, in a model built to replace gratuities with real wages.

Founder-run

The Big Picture

Genuinely Independent

Sey Coffee is owned and run by its two founders, with no PE firm, VC fund, or outside investor of any kind on the record. It pays baristas $28 to $31 an hour under a no-tipping model built to replace gratuities with real wages, well above the city's minimum. With a single Bushwick location and no announced expansion, Sey answers to Lance Schnorenberg and Tobin Polk — nobody else.

Let's Get Critical

Local ownership
9/10
Founder involvement
9/10
Worker pay & benefits
8/10
Environmental impact
6/10
Sourcing & labor
6/10

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Company data last updated July 2026

How does one person build and research all this? They don't: here's how it actually works. Verdicts are our opinions, based on the public sources cited above as of July 2026. Spotted something off? or learn more.