Plowshares Coffee Roasters

First time at Plowshares. The coffee was just right and delicious. I had an iced latte. Service was very friendly and quick. Also, beautiful atmosphere and ambiance. Definitely recommend!

I’m a small cafe owner who discovered Plowshares’ Harlem cafe while my husband andI had to take “forced” time off to come to the city for cancer treatment. The pandemic wreaked it’s havoc on us, mentally, spiritually, and physically as we worked to feed our family and community during such a painful time. We fell in love with Plowshares’ consistently high quality, the kindness of the service, the compassion of the owner who was never too proud to personally serve us.

As I signed on to write this review, I saw what was written recently by thelifeofnay, berating the owner for asking them to purchase something from the cafe if they were going to use the space. That someone would write something so selfish about a small business working to make payroll and cover the overhead is just, well, shocking.

Plowshares is safe, warm, bright, welcoming and serves the highest quality coffee in the entire city (With all our weeks of cancer treatment, I believe I’ve tried them all.). This cannot be achieved by the owner alone. Maintaining a space as magical as Plowshares is a community effort. The owners must be supported by the public. Your presence as a Plowshares customer, and your willingness to pay them for keeping the heat and the lights on, for navigating the safety issues through hard times, for standing long hours and going home with pain in their bodies after a hard day’s work, and for sourcing the highest quality food for you, is what keeps them there, and keeps that beautiful space available for everyone.

Please remember that we small business owners don’t do this to get rich. We do this because we want to bring something beautiful to our communities. I beg of you not to begrudge a fellow business owner who simply asks you to do more than camp out in their establishment, using their bathroom and their wifi and the seats they need for paying customers. Please help them stay in business. Kudos to the owner for stepping forward and asking you to do your part. Too many of us small business owners are too embarrassed and shy to let you know what we need. Instead, we just go out of business and disappear. Thank you, Plowshares, for your bravery to assert what we all need to do in this line of work to stay afloat. If TheLifeofnay needs a warm place to sit down, with a clean bathroom, wifi and room to work, and they don’t wish to spend money, there are a number of NYPL branches throughout the area. They are fabulous!

Cozy coffeeshop that offers some daily food selections as well. I had the chai and the potato/broccoli soup and read a book for a while. There were folks working on their laptops too. They have a selection of fresh pastries, including vegan options, as well as pre-packaged vegan/ gluten-free snacks.