Abraço

Jamie McCormick, previously a barista at Blue Bottle Coffee in the Bay Area, opened Abraço in 2007 with Elizabeth Quijada, taking the shop's name from a Brazilian pop song by Gilberto Gil. The original East Village room was so small that guests ended up talking to one another, and in 2016 the shop moved across the street into a larger space with sit down tables, staying on the same block.

Quijada's orange scented olive oil cake has become nearly as well known as the espresso itself, drawing visitors well past the neighborhood for a slice. The owners live on the block, jazz often plays over the room, and the shared tables keep it a place where neighbors and strangers end up in conversation.