A seating area inside the new Coffee Check roastery cafe, which includes a photogenic kitchen, recording room and more. All images courtesy of Coffee Check.
A Brooklyn, New York-based consumer tech vlogger went from shooting videos inside coffee shops to opening a coffee shop of his own called Coffee Check.
The approximately 2,500-square-foot cafe that opened in Greenpoint late last month is owned by David Cogen, creator and star of The Unlockr, a YouTube series devoted to consumer electronics.
Inside the new cafe, about 500 square feet is set aside for a soon-to-open coffee roastery, while another 1,000 square feet has been transformed into a video production studio space available for rent.
The cafe’s photogenic commercial kitchen is also available to vloggers seeking sets for food-focused content. The new studio will also become the home base of The Unlockr, although the coffee shop is currently occupying much of the entrepreneur’s bandwidth.
“I haven’t been able to [create Unlockr content] for a while, frankly,” Cogen told Daily Coffee News. “But I’m finally starting to be able to get back to making videos while still managing the cafe. For a while, the place where we’ll be getting our coffee in the video, as I do in every review, will be Coffee Check. Then I’ll go back to exploring new coffee shops to show the audience.”
Cogen, a Williamsburg resident with an office and plenty of friends in Greenpoint, has spent years observing the local coffee scene, and those experiences have informed the shop design.
The concrete-topped espresso bar is warmed by wooden slats along the front. A large live edge table made in Long Island accommodates groups and encourages chatting. Calm neutral colors around the rest of the shop serve as backdrops to colorful ceramics, pourover brewers and decorative knick knacks.
“I love the coffee shops that are in Greenpoint but thought I could bring one that was a bit different in terms of the vibe and offerings,” said Cogen. “It’s a bit more modern industrial styling. Couches are modern but still comfortable; chairs all have backs to make them more comfortable for guests.”
Coffee Check’s own Founder’s Blend coffee fills the hopper of a Victoria Arduino Mythos MY75 grinder for espresso made on a Victoria Arduino Eagle One espresso machine. A Mahlkönig EK43S handles all other grinding, including for batches of drip coffee made in a Fetco Extractor NG and Origami manual pourover brews.
The baristas performing those brews and other duties at Coffee Check earn a stable, predictable income through a “no tipping” model.
“[Our] baristas are just paid better,” said Cogen. “Prices on the menu haven’t changed and are similar and sometimes even lower than other coffee shops around us.”
A local roasting partner handles production of Coffee Check’s signature blend for now, although as soon as city approvals are granted, a Stronghold S7X roaster will fire up.
“[Stronghold] definitely appeals to my tech side, for sure,” said Cogen. “They’re also just easier, in some aspects, to control. Automated replication of a profile, for example, is a handy feature, and I also wanted to be all electric, regardless.”
Cogen can foresee devoting an episode of The Unlockr to the Stronghold and other tech used in the coffee shop. Yet for now, the entrepreneur is immersed in the ebb and flow of opening a new store.
“Right now I need to focus on getting the cafe to the best place it can be,” said Cogen. “Roasting comes first and foremost, and with that will come different coffees, new seasonal drinks, and I’d also love to offer coffee classes, both paid and free ones, in the future as well.”
Coffee Check is located at 65A Green St. in Brooklyn, New York. Tell DCN’s editors about your new coffee shop or roastery here.
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Howard Bryman
Howard Bryman is the associate editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. He is based in Portland, Oregon.
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