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Discover NYC – Your Guide to Indie Businesses

Discover the local, independent businesses that are the heart and soul of NYC in Shoot New York City’s guide to the best of indie New York!

Discover the real NYC in Shoot New York City’s Discover Guide

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the businesses listed are temporarily or permanently closed. I do suggest that you verify if they are open before visiting them. With many of them, it is probably best to call them as they may not have had the opportunity to update the information on their website.

I love the independent businesses in New York, they are the heart and soul of the city! In this section you will find bookstores, cafés, restaurants, arts & crafts markets and more. This is an ongoing project to list the best of indie New York so visit often to discover the real New York City. Experience the hidden gems and places that New Yorkers frequent. For more information on many of NYC’s vibrant neighborhoods, have a read of my Neighborhood Guides. I am not compensated for writing these reviews and I'm only writing about the places that I like.

Sadly, far too many of these unique, independent businesses close every year. When I learn of one closing I will move it to the category Vanishing NYC. They may be gone but they’ll never be forgotten!

Neighborhoods

Business Type

 

Caffe Reggio, Greenwich Village, Manhattan

Caffe Reggio is classic New York City. It's one of the oldest cafés in the city. Pre-Starbucks it was one of the few places you get a decent latte. They opened in 1927! Talk about history! Oh if the walls could talk and we could hear all the famous people who frequented Caffe Reggio!

The interior is very small and the tables are close together! And there are many relics from the past that might feel like you're time traveling. According to Wikipedia, "Italian cappuccino was introduced in America by the founder of Caffe Reggio, Domenico Parisi, in the early 1920s.[1] Inside the cafe, against the back wall, there is still the original espresso machine, made in 1902, that Domenico Parisi bought with his savings when he opened the cafe in 1927."

I should also mention that The Godfather Part II and the Coen Brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis featured Caffe Reggio and if that's not enough "In 1959, presidential hopeful John F. Kennedy made a speech outside the coffee shop." In typical style of the old school businesses in New York City, they don't have a website!

Caffe Reggio 119 Macdougal St, Greenwich Village, Manhattan.

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CafesLeanne StaplesGreenwich Village, Manhattan