"When any Los Angeles establishment plants its flag in New York, I let the West Coast diaspora go first so they can list all of the ways it doesn't compare to the original. Gjelina isn't Gjelina without the year-round quality of California produce; Erewhon is only daring to export a smoothie bar to a private club - hardly offering the grandeur of a full store. Reproducing the soul of a coffee shop is more realistic,"
"but the most successful examples are chains, paragons of corporate consistency. Maru, whose first East Coast location opens on Monday in Williamsburg, is something different. It's the best possible case for locals and bicoastals alike, a still-passionate start-up that is striving for nothing more than to live up to its own standards for perfection. A coffee-snob food-editor friend calls Maru "very hyped" but concedes he"
Maru opened its first store in 2016 and gained attention after selling cream-top iced coffee and matcha in 2018. The cafe became known for properly dosed espresso shots and a widely sourced pour-over menu that now includes six single-origin house roasts. The Williamsburg location marks the brand's first East Coast expansion with a manager who recently moved from Los Angeles training new staff. The menu emphasizes coffee over creamy trends and features unique espresso sets pairing espresso or a cortado with a small drip-coffee chaser. The sets are served on custom-etched wood trays with tasting notes and to-go cardboard carriers for easy one-handed transport.
Read at Grub Street
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