Buunni Coffee Pinehurst

Buunni's Pinehurst Avenue cafe is where the Ethiopian inspired coffee company began in 2012, when founders Elias and Sarina opened a tiny first storefront in Washington Heights around the corner from their apartment. It is a bohemian shop with a long wooden table that has hosted countless conversations in the neighborhood, around the corner from Bennett Park and close to the elevators at 181 Street.

The name means brown, a nod to the coffee and to the founders' heritage. Beans come from smallholder farms and cooperatives in Ethiopia and are roasted weekly in micro batches in New York, and the founders describe their Ethiopian macchiato as short, dark and creamy. The cafe adds sweet and savory baked goods and is open every day, from seven on weekdays and eight at the weekend until five.