Principles GI Coffee House — Restaurant in New York

For lo, there stood upon a ladder one year ago a figure in black. And I inquired of said figure: is this going to be a coffeeshop? The bespectacled figure descended giddily yet silently to the Gowanus street - as if Tesla coils of energy were crackling wildly inside with possibility - disappeared under the metal roll door and then re-emerged like a genie from her tarnished lamp, grinning and extending a shiny metal token. Between unhinged honks and the world-burning grind of cement truck gears, I was then awakened to my fate as a future denizen, surely as the coal tar lured Sludgie into the Canal long ago: "It's called Principles. Hi - I'm Katie!!"

Katie and her team have grown/built/teased forth/willed/allen wrenched/antagonized/sweated a beautiful thing into being here on 9th Street looking out at the trestle. Principles GI Coffee House has proven itself one of the most profoundly necessary, interesting, generative, welcoming, edifying, persnickety, instigating, enthusiastic, crossroadsy, & truly independent places I've encountered in twelve years in NYC. It is the only true exemplar of the grand post-diluvian New Orleanian lounge coffeeshop style in New York City. I pay $8 for a mocha here and gd love it! I get a vegan chocolate chip cookie too cuz it's actually good! Such dues are a mere pittance to exist in a place like Principles. And baristas like Nikolai, Kimi, Syd, & Aubrey and their varying musical stylings (which just barely keep us sane in the face of the hardcore Katiean audio onslaught) are automatically tipped in that fee. And the doors are kept open for us to observe antics and frantics and Lani and Asbronaut flying on a stool. And Liminal sauntering in from the barbershop loudly looking for another yaupon. And KK doodling, exclaiming with joy. And Cara biking in on a BMX. And Smokey dropping stealth deadpannish puns. And Mark entertaining our wild architectural ideas and Heather knowing antiquarian books and Aramis coding in spruce silence and sail freight customers and Josh the biker gearing up and Mac talking cans and Richard talking pockets and Henry airing things out and the familiar faces you-know-better-and-see-oftener-than-friends-and-yet-struggle-to-recall-the-pronouns-and-names and Jamie with the baby and Tony & Alison & Temaki and Erica on the bench out front and Alisha tapping away and the enigmatic iron haired reclusive man in the back who may be a great philosopher or poet and a down and out person asking and getting a cup of joe for free.

And then, amidst the wrenches & geshas & axolotl & bathroom stickers spreading like vines & even more honking & train rumbling & walk ups in disbelief at the prices & cyclists rolling in with signs & poets & marketing people & half-coy lovers & circles chatting & activists & stylists & meth rehab folx & drummers & visiting roasters & neighbors on the block and Dredgers & vegan chefs & ceramicists & Lowe's cashiers....Wayne from next door, of course, pops in with an avuncular story or three - & Katie is laughing her laugh. All really does seem, somehow, in what feels sometimes like overlapping godforesakenish planes of existence, to be good.

I've learned so very much at Principles. A place of edification by uncorralled urban osmosis - I feel like Walt Whitman boarding the packed ferry every time I enter & sometimes I go home with a handknit purple octopus for my niece, a book about ska, or a lesson about how little really know about the ranges and realities of human sexuality and gender. Every morning is like a new big bang. Standing at the counter with Katie or Nikolai in the am often hits like 6 coffees at once - as wild, phenomenal, idiosyncratic etymological, historical, numismatic, philosophical, speculative, anthropological, musical, & astrophysical conversations spool out in the best possible tangles, generating their own weather and Jean's-counter slapping guffaws, & weaving in random folx in line who jump in and row along for awhile across wild waters. A place of life, optimism.

Brava Brava Katie! Happy first birthday,...

1st review...what was that, 09/22?

I went looking for coffee and found an absolute haven! Principles is a coffeehouse that lives and breathes integrity to its name, from the specialty coffee selection and service (I got an espresso a shrub I concocted from two of the bottled offerings, the tools and bonus ingredients for which were happily accomodated a pourover coffee of the day a decaf Americano a 12oz bag of beans, ground for use at home ...all exquisite and made exquisitely),

to business model and practices, tip included in the price baristas make a true living wage pay-what-you-can tier for basic items pay-it-forward coins for that tier available for purchase

to its contributions to the fabric of its community free classes for bike maintenance tools for cyclists to use onsite a table full of free covid tests, informative 'zines, and lots of printed materials for local resources lots of seating and, yes, free wifi a performance space is going up in the back

Everyone who comes in is friendly, punk/ska flowed freely but not too loudly from the speakers, the menu has a sense of humor...all the vibes are on point. I stayed for hours and brought a friend.

Best of all, getting coffee at Principles means supporting a woman- and veteran-owned business (bonus: ask Katie about the activist history behind GI coffeehouses!), a sober events space, and a fiercely-supportive LGBTQIA+ space. AND there's even more in store planned...I can't wait! Back to update 11/22: everything is still superbly great and getting better all the time! Katie works to give platform to the marginalized, to art, and a selection of beans that never fails to surprise. Went on an art show binge and ended up purchasing 22 postcards on display...

Having visited hundreds of coffee shops in NYC, I did not think I would encounter a place as magical as Principals. It looks unassuming from the street but once you’ve entered, wow… this place blew me away! Not once or twice but throughout my entire stay. First I asked the really nice barista if they had a tea and oh my, did they?!? Their tea menu is thoughtfully curated and includes a gorgeous array of interesting teas from around the around. It was a difficult choice and begs multiple returns so I can try them all! Then I realized they were serving delicious DAK coffee out of Amsterdam and learnt that they rotate their coffees out so that keeps things really interesting- you could be experiencing coffee roasted from any part of the world, the country or from within town- one never knows… really cool! But what one does know is they put a lot of thought into which coffee they use because DAK is incredibly delicious and not super well-known in the US so really happy to see it here. Then… the space: it is so cozy and interesting here and I discovered that the coffeeshop also functions as a community space, bicycle club and numerous other happenings. Theres a lot going on here, in an exciting way. The baristas are paid $25 an hour, unheard of in this city (or most of the country)! And the drip, espresso and americano are pay what you can. Mind blowing indeed! I had only heard of the “ideal workplace” from dreamy baristas but I have never actually seen it in action. This place IS the dream! And I will use every opportunity to stop in and support this enchanting place. Amazing...