Coffee Shop That Shuns Wi-Fi To Open Second Upper East Side Store

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A coffee shop that intentionally doesn't offer its customers Wi-Fi access will open its second Upper East Side store next week.

Birch Coffee will be serving up globally-sourced coffee, refillable cold brew growlers and local pastries at 171 E. 88th St., located between Lexington and Third avenues, starting Tuesday, Aug. 22. The coffee chain already has a store in the neighborhood on East 62nd Street and Lexington Avenue.

The East 88th Street Birch Coffee will be the chain's ninth location in New York City, a spokesperson for the company told Patch. The company was founded in New York City in 2009 and has expanded rapidly in the past two years, a spokesperson said. The company now employs a city-wide staff of 80 people.

One of the store's selling points is unusual for a 21st century coffee shop: It doesn't offer Wi-Fi.

"Laptops and smartphones replaced newspapers and neighbors, and everything got a little too complicated. At Birch, we strive to be a break from the chaos," the coffee shop's website says.

Check out Birch Coffee's menu here.

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