Manhattan Clothiers Adding High-End Coffee Bars to Improve ‘Cultural Experience’

The Club Monaco Fifth Avenue location (pre-makeover)

Let us hope this is not a passing trend in the world of fashion.

Mid-priced fashionable men’s and women’s clothier Club Monaco appears to be the latest in a series of retailers adding a specialty coffee retail component to its stores. According to a New York Times report yesterday, the Polo Ralph Lauren-owned retailer will be selling coffees from Brooklyn’s Toby’s Estate as it opens a flagship store at 160 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

The coffee component will be complemented by the additional in-store presence of New York-based Strand Book Shop. Here’s more from the Times report:

“We wanted to create a space where you don’t just come to buy a sweater, but are getting an education on art and culture,” said Allison Greenberg, Club Monaco’s director of marketing and communications. “You can have a cup of coffee or sit in the library and read a great book that is relevant to the Flatiron district.”

This news follows the opening of a cafe in the Fifth Avenue Urban Outfitters location, which began selling coffees and espresso drinks from Wisconsin’s Kickapoo Coffee to patrons earlier this month. It’s the first in-store coffee bar of its kind for the retailer. Also in New York, ultra high-end men’s clothing retailer Onassis Clothing announced plans to make complimentary coffee and espresso drinks (supplied by Gimme! Coffee) for patrons interested in enjoying some quality time inside the store.

This is not the dollar hot dogs and 32-ounce sodas at Target and Wal-Mart, and we can only hope the trend among specialty clothiers taking an interest in specialty coffee continues.

The Urban Outfitters Fifth Avenue Cafe. Facebook photo by Kickapoo Coffee