NYC's Mercantile Mayhem: It's The Bomba! Mountains of Coffee Grounds, Basic Income and Caroline's Making a Shop
A newsletter about the survival of independent businesses in New York City, with a special focus on immigrant-owned, storefront retail and CPG enterprises.
Gospel of The Bombolone
I was shocked to learn about the bombolone just a couple months ago for the first time. The bombolone, sometimes called bomba, is an Italian doughnut that might be filled with a rich, creamy pistachio lusciousness or blueberry rosemary compote, far superior to the American version. (Sorry, someone has to say it—I find a typical bombolone to be rounder and fluffier than American doughnuts and not as sickeningly sweet.)
The reason the bombelone rocked my little world is because I thought I already knew Italian cuisine quite thoroughly, albeit perhaps Americanized versions of staple dishes and treats. Italian inspired cuisine is popular in the US because of the millions of immigrants arriving from what is now Italy in the 1800s onwards and the its general deliciousness. So, why had I not heard about the bombolone?
My bombolone enlightenment began a couple months ago when Paola Sinisgalli hired me to photograph the BomboloneFest. Sinisgalli is the co-owner of Unregular Bakery (and Unregular Pizza) with her husband Gabriele Lamonaca, located just south of Union Square on 4th Ave. Sinisgalli and Lamonaca are from Rome, Italy and Unregular Bakery is one of the few storefront bakeries in New York City to specialize in the bombolone, both sweet and savory versions.
They bring this Italian bomba to a whole other level by adding their “unregular” touch. The Bombaspritz is filled with an orange pastry cream with Aperol and Prosecco pearls and a few on top, there’s also a strawberry cheesecake bombolone and one with homemade nutella and cream cheese, among others. One of the savory bomboloni, more like a sandwich, is a classic caprese. All the bomboloni are made with flour imported from Italy and the levetation process is slightly different to their American cousins.
You can watch a very surreal ode to the bombolone video here by Italian singer Gianna Nannini.
Why Isn’t There a Coffee Grounds Startup in NYC?
Isn’t there some brainiac whippersnapper in New York City who has figured out how to convert coffee grounds into much needed items like biodegradable batteries, realistic-looking injectables (don’t try this at home!), or moisture-wicking fabrics for barista jumpsuits, ideal for the frenzied morning coffee rush?
Last month at Coffee Fest, I listened to a panel discussion about sustainability in the coffee industry. It included two local coffee aficionados, Sarina Prabasi of Buunni Coffee and moderator Anu Menon of Driftaway Coffee, as well as Gary Kratzer of GreenPod Coffee Packing and Jean Brillman of White Horse Coffee. The topic of coffee grounds came up. We all know coffee grounds are wonderful for gardens, but are there enough gardens to absorb the mountains of coffee grounds produced from New York City’s thousands of coffee shops?
Perhaps we can look to Finland and see how innovators there are using coffee grounds. I found these startup morsels on one of my favorite newsletters Good News from Finland.
A partnership between the coffee company Paulig and sustainable dye company Natural Indigo Finland in Helsinki uses Paulig’s coffee waste to dye textiles; Marimekko has used these dyes.
Another innovation is Kesko and Berner creating Pirkka Kaffee gardening products—gardening soil and fertilizer—using leftover coffee grounds from Neste K service stations. A 5 liter bag of soil uses grounds from 70 cups of coffee.
Helsieni makes mushroom growing kits for home using coffee grounds.
I was joking about the injectables, but Coffee Reloved is in fact making beauty product ingredients (topical) from coffee grounds.
Outside of coffee ground innovations, lab-grown coffee anyone? Yes, it involves “cultivating coffee cells in bioreactors.” It’s being created by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.
On a side note, wondering why Finland is ranked as the happiest country year after year? The most astute explanation I’ve read was written last year by Penelope Colston for the New York Times.
Basic Income: It’s Basic
What should happen when swaths of the US population work full-time jobs but can’t pay their basic living expenses? One solution is Basic Income, examined in the 2023 documentary, It’s Basic.
This documentary—produced by Michael Tubbs and made by Marc Levin—follows participants in Basic Income pilot programs in a dozen cities across the US, from Stockton, CA, to Cambridge, MA. Participants received $500 a month. Each pilot program was funded by a combination of private and public funds with the exception of a few that were entirely private. The recipients used their $500 for groceries, diapers or living expenses while going to school or being the sole caretaker of a special needs child. Watch the trailer here.
What makes Basic Income different than public assistance is there are no strings attached to the money. Recipients are treated as human beings with agency and free to do what they want with, in this program, $500. The documentary, screened at Anthology Film Archives, was fairly gut-wrenching to watch, most recipients of Basic Income in the documentary were single parents struggling to make ends meet. It’s clear we no longer live in the economy of the 1960s, 1970s when a single wage, even from a blue collar job, could support a family.
Some New York City stats: the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $4,040. This is a piece of cake if you work in the tech or finance sectors, or are one of the CEOs paid $20, $35, $100 million a year, but not possible for those earning minimum wage, which is $16 an hour. CEOs were paid 399 times the amount of a typical worker in 2021. A new report cites that the city’s millionaires jumped by 48% over the last ten years; New York City now has has nearly 350,000 millionaires, 744 centi-millionaires ($100+ mil) and 60 billionaires.
Extreme income disparities also exists in academia and the nonprofit sector. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s director earns $1.4 million a year (chump change, as MoMA’s director earns $2 million) and by contrast the Met’s security guards’ pay starts at just above minimum wage. As of 2022, artist/Met security guard Emilie Lemakis earned $22 an hour, even after 27 years of employment.
Basic Income has its critics, the far left says it doesn’t go far enough and that capitalism must be dismantled and such, the far right says Basic Income is marxist and promotes laziness. If not Basic Income, what is the solution to the ever widening wage gap, likely more pronounced as automation and AI become the norm? (Raising the minimum wage would wipe out vast numbers of independent small businesses.) How should cities, states or the country remedy people working 40 hours a week but unable to pay basic living expenses? Logic says tax the billionaires and some, like Abigail Disney and Valerie Rockefeller, want to pay higher taxes.
Adventures of NYC Retail
Caroline Weaver’s general store will open in the West Village by late spring featuring products made within a 100 mile radius. The shop is located directly across 6th Ave from the gorgeous Jefferson Market Library. Weaver is chronicling her retail adventures on Instagram (@thelocavorenyc) called “Making a Shop”, which I highly recommend watching. Anyone who makes products, or loves particular brands within 100 miles is welcome to email her: caroline@thelocavore.com.
Weaver is no novice to the wild and woolly world of retail, she owned CW Pencil Enterprise for seven years, a beloved pencil shop in the Lower East Side that shuttered during the pandemic. An avid supporter of in-person shopping, Weaver created the comprehensive The Locavore Guide that highlights independent stores in all of NYC’s nooks and crannies.
First Official Sponsor Alert!
I am beyond thrilled to announce Mercantile Mayhem’s first official sponsor, Accompany Capital! I could not be happier because I have been an Accompany Capital super fan for years. Spearheaded by Executive Director Yanki Tshering, Accompany Capital (formerly know as BCNA) has helped scores of immigrant- and refugee-owned businesses by providing loans, free workshops, startup pitch contests and a multitude of other services. Thank you Accompany Capital! (Immigrant Heritage Week is coming up in April, more on Accompany Capital’s immigrant celebration to come.)
This newsletter’s sponsor is Accompany Capital, an organization that has been investing in New York City’s immigrant and refugee businesses since 1997.
Opportunities & Happenings
Applications are open for the Whole Foods Local and Emerging Accelerator Program (LEAP) for emerging brands. The application deadline is April 19, those accepted into LEAP will be announced in July.
The list of this year’s Queens Night Market vendors so far looks amazing! This global food festival occurs every Saturday night during the summer (with one pause do to the US Open) starting in April, applications are still open. This link will tell you everything you need to know about being a vendor.
Adding to the list of New York City food markets looking for vendors: Uptown Night Market and Brooklyn Night Market.
The Biomimicry Institute’s Ray of Hope Accelerator program focuses on nature-inspired startups. The six month program is geared to help startups with solutions for environmental and social challenges. Applications are open until May 3.
Food and agriculture startups anywhere in the world can compete in the Grown-NY startup competition. Three million dollars in prize money is awarded to seven winners, the first winner is awarded $1 million of it. Applications close May 15, 2024. There are restrictions and winners will have to have its primary headquarters in the Grow-NY Region, which is Central New York, Finger Lakes and Southern Tier.
Sponsorship
I plan on keeping this newsletter free by getting additional sponsorship from organizations, I will keep you posted. Some of you have paid for subscriptions, thaaaaaaank you so much! (If you are interested in being a sponsor, please contact me: ninarobertsnyc@gmail.com). Please feel free to forward to others.
This newsletter was such an interesting read! Thanks! And next time I'm visiting we must go to Unregular Bakery for bomboloni!
Such informative and unusual reporting, Nina! I loved the piece about bomboloni....must see where I can find them in Boston. In addition the link to the article about Finns' "happiness" is wonderful, especially knowing your Mom. Thanks for that. Basic Income, as well. We must raise taxes on the super-wealthy as Biden has indicated, otherwise we are stuck with massive inequality. Voting is key.