NYC's Mercantile Mayhem: Fishwife Pop-Up, Lebanese Labneh in Greenpoint, Larry’s Cà Phê and Open House New York
A newsletter about the survival of independent businesses in New York City with a focus on immigrant-owned, storefront retail and CPG enterprises.
FISHWIFE POWER POP-UP
Unless you have been living off the grid and foraging for your own food, you’ve probably encountered the colorful Fishwife tins full of Albacore tuna in spicy olive oil, sardines with preserved lemon or smoked Atlantic salmon. Fishwife launched in 2020 and has been covered in all types of publications, from the The New York Times to Vogue, and the CEO Becca Millstein even made a deal on Shark Tank. The tins are ubiquitous, I even found them selling in the nether regions of Maine. The colorful, cartoony illustrations by Danny Miller on fishwife packaging has been one of its defining visual features.
Fishwife tins typically sell via ecommerce or in retail stores, so when I heard there was a physical pop-up on Elizabeth Street (don’t get excited New Yorkers, sorry, the pop-up is over) I thought I’d pay it a visit.
To my delight, not only was there no line but Millstein, the CEO and co-founder, was also on the premises! She was even game to have her picture taken in the sardine tin, roping in her sister, Julia Citrin.
Some consumer packaged goods (CPGs) have a fun, joyful, wacky quality and Fishwife is one of them. Of course it’s subjective, but a couple other CPGs companies that have a similar feel—you don’t want to miss the party—are Fly By Jing and Graza. Throughout Fishwife’s pop-up there were giveaways and collaboration events with chefs, artists and heavies like Caffè Panna, Ghia and the aforementioned Graza.
LEBANESE LABNEH IN GREENPOINT AND BEYOND
I knew it was only a matter of time before labneh, the tangy, creamy strained yogurt adjacent dairy product from Lebanon and other Mediterranean and Middle East countries (Turkey has its own version) became mainstream across the US. I didn’t grow up eating labneh, the first time I tasted it was at a party long ago, served on a platter with olive oil, za’atar and pieces of flat bread. So simple and yet so delicious, I’ve been a fan from that point.
When I received an invite to Yaza’s Labneh party at none other than Edy’s Grocer (I wrote about his new cookbook here) it took milliseconds to RSVP and I arrived at the event on the dot. I did not want to miss out on the labneh or Edy’s famous brown paper board.
I had interviewed Yaza’s founder Karim Khalil before, for a story about MENA certification and we got to talking about his labneh. There are strict dairy regulations in the US, but Khalil figured out a way to keep the process authentic, the ingredients simple and clean, and work within the required regulations. (I am writing a longer story about it.) Yaza labneh now sells at Whole Foods and other shops across the US.
LARRY’S CÀ PHÊ
I’ve wanted to visit Larry’s Cà Phê in East Williamsburg ever since I attended the Shops of New York Film Festival in September (I wrote about it here) and watched the aptly named film “Larry’s Ca Phe” about the cafe (you will understand the cafe name when you watch it).
The film directed by Christian Ocana won the film festival’s Grand Prize and features Tuen Nguyen, the cafe owner, originally from Vietnam. It weaves together his personal backstory about adoption and the cafe as a warm, inviting space. Larry’s Cà Phê serves all types of espresso and drip coffee drinks, some made with the beautiful Kyoto-style slow drip coffee gizmo with two carafes affixed to the wall. One of the most popular drinks is Larry’s Ice-Green, made with coconut water, matcha foam topped with shaved coconut.
And what better day to visit Larry’s than this past weekend when chef/recipe developer/writer (we all wear multiple hats these days) Ali Domrongchai had a pop-up, selling sweet treats: thai tea mochi cake with cardamom buttercream, pandan mochi bars with lemongrass glaze and an array of cookies, like the calico cat cookie named after her cat Wanda with swirls of black sesame, chocolate, Thai tea and vanilla. I inhaled mine, it was outstanding. Follow Domrongchai’s Instagram for future pop-ups and other culinary or editorial activities.
SPICEWALLA IN ASHEVILLE, NC
I interviewed restaurateur Meherwan Irani during the pandemic for a story about his spice company Spicewalla that he co-owns, along with restaurants Chai Pani, based in Asheville, North Carolina. When I heard and saw the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene I immediately checked Spicewalla’s Instagram. Everyone has been accounted for, but the restaurant remains closed and the Spicewalla shop just re-opened.
When I interviewed Irani during the pandemic, he said that Spicewalla, which they launched just before March 2020, is what enabled them to financially survive the pandemic. It might be the case again now after Hurricane Helene. If you need some superb masalas (I sampled the goods after taking this photo, made lots of delicious soups and stews) check out Spicewalla.
OPEN HOUSE NEW YORK, OCTOBER 18 - 20, 2024
New Yorkers can get inside glimpses and tours inside some of the the city’s grandest buildings, theaters, mysterious manufacturers and landmarks during Open House New York, October 18 - 20.
There are more than 270 sites included in this year’s OHNY weekend, some are: Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine’s Textile Conservation Lab, Brooklyn Army Terminal (pictured), Alice Austin House in Staten Island, Kingsland Wild flowers Green Roofs, Bronx River Foodway and the Lewis Latimer House Museum. For the small business-centrics in the house, some of the manufacturing and businesses to visit include: Wing & Weft Gloves Factory, Brooklyn Seltzer Museum, Kings County Distillery, Sparrow Funeral Home and Brooklyn Glass.
The ticket situation is slightly complicated, so I hope you are concentrating. There are 148 sites that are not ticketed, meaning they are free of charge, you do not have to sign up for them, just show up at the hours listed for each site. Now for the tricky part, there are 128 ticked sites, most cost $6 plus handling fee, totaling just under $7.50. Some ticketed tours are free, but the only way to find out which ticketed sites are free or cost $7.50 is to go to a site page, click on “ticket” which will bring you to an eventbright page, click on “details”, which will show you if it’s free or $7.50.
Ticketed sites, free or costing $7.50, become available today, October 8, at 11am. The tickets go very quickly, it’s first come first serve, so be ready. Make sure you get logged in, or create a login if you don’t have one prior to 11am, you will need it to reserve/purchase tickets. Good Luck!
HARDCORE SMALL BIZ ZONE
If terms like “access to capital”, “backbone of our economy” or “job creators” and small business stats, like 19.4 million new business applications filed, gives you a little rush, this segment of the newsletter is for you. The Small Business Summit, part of The Atlantic Festival, took place in Washington DC two weeks ago, which can be viewed here. It comprised conversations between Atlantic staff and heavyweights in the small business world like Isabel Casillas Guzman, the head of the Small Business Administration (SBA). They discussed various aspects of small business survival, from accessing capital, to the use of AI, government contracts, to selling on global platforms like Amazon.
The event was underwritten by Goldman Sachs and trigger warning, throughout the discussions there is some tooting of their respective organizations’ and/or companies’ horns. But I think anyone who worked within the small business sector during the pandemic, like Casillas Guzman, is allowed to toot. She has been the SBA Administrator, her official title, since March 2021.
A summery of the conversations, watch here:
Small Business Landscape: U.S. Small Business Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman and Bhumika Tharoor, The Atlantic’s Managing Editor.
Fueling Small Business Growth: Access to capital, lending, funding, scaling. A conversation with Asahi Pompey, head of Global Engagement at Goldman Sachs, Jessica Dehn, founder of Explore Academy and Alice McKown, The Atlantic’s publisher and EVP.
Access to Capital for Black Business Owners: A conversation between The Atlantic’s Managing Editor, Bhumika Tharoor, US Black Chambers President and CEO Ron Busby Sr and Nic Cober, founder and CEO of BOW Collective/Managing Partner at Cober Johnson & Romney that highlights the deep disparity that remains for Black business owners when accessing to capital.
Thank you Accompany Capital, one of Mercantile Mayhem’s sponsors. Accompany Capital is a CDFI that helps immigrants and refugees with loans and financial services. Read about Accompany Capital here.
Mercantile Mayhem’s second sponsor is Small Business Majority, which supports and empowers small businesses across the US with a focus on public policy. SBM recently opened a New York City branch with Lindsey Vigoda (lvigoda@smallbusinessmajority.org) at the helm. Please read about SBM here, I will be writing more about their New York City programing and initiatives in the following weeks. Thank you Small Business Majority!
OPPORTUNITIES
Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) is accepting applications for their four month Winter 2025 program starting January 13, 2025. Selected companies will receive an initial investment of $150K in a post-money SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) for 6% of each company and the potential for follow-on funding. Deadline is November 4, 2034, apply here.
Food Future Co is a scale-up food accelerator and applications are open for Cohort 13. Food Future Co’s primary interests are: consumer products, local food, plant-based food, sustainable seafood, ag tech, food tech and food waste. Click here for details, deadline is October 28, 2024.
Applications are open for the prestigious Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans that pays for one to two years of graduate study. It’s open to immigrants or children of immigrants. Deadline: October 31, 2024.
Immigrant founders, find your people and network through the Unshackled Ventures community. Unshackled Ventures is VC fund based out of the Bay Area cofounded by Manan Mehta and Nitin Pachisia, apply here.
Thanks for an interesting and enjoyable newsletter Nina!