NYC's Mercantile Mayhem: Kimchi Grilled Cheese at The Hub, CoffeeFest, Tariff Chaos, Queens Night Market is Baaa-aaack, Impromptu Patti Smith and Immigrant Week Awards
A newsletter about the survival of independent businesses in New York City with a focus on immigrant-owned, storefront retail and CPG enterprises.
There is massive amount of mayhem in New York City’s independent business world—and not of the fun and frolic variety, but destructive—caused by tariffs and the surrounding chaos.
However, I’m going to start this edition of Mercantile Mayhem on a positive note: Welcome to Chinatown’s Small Business Innovation Hub on the Bowery.
KIMCHI GRILLED CHEESE AT THE HUB
The Hub is a former storefront space on the Bowery, geared to empower small businesses in Chinatown and beyond. Designed by architect T.K. Justin Ng of Spaced Agency, The Hub opened this past fall for events and various activities, it also functions as a co-working space. The modular wood furniture designed by Ng can be reconfigured to meet the needs of a particular event and it’s also equipped with a kitchenette, which is why I visited The Hub. All I had to read was kimchi grilled cheese when I received Welcome to Chinatown’s newsletter (I highly recommend it) and knew I had to visit.
The scrumptious kimchi grilled cheese, made by Derick of Higgled & Piggled, was part of The Hub’s Test Thursday. The initiative was launched to support new food entrepreneurs who want to test their culinary concepts—logistics, prep time, pricing—working out any unforeseen challenges in the pop up food business.
The kimchi grilled cheese exceeded my expectations, I hoovered it up in a few minutes. I mean, look at it! Sign up for the Welcome to China newsletter to find out about future Test Thursdays (maybe even partake in a Test Thursday yourself) and other events, and/or follow Welcome to Chinatown on social media.
COFFEEFEST IN NEW YORK CITY, PRE-TARIFF ANNOUNCEMENT
We are not getting to the terrible tariff news quite yet, we’ll ease into it by the end of this story. I attended the CoffeeFest last month, a large coffee trade show at the Javits, there were roasters, cafe owners, snack purveyors and packaging businesses, all jacked up on caffeine—or the natural joys of the industry.
There were plenty of New York City coffee business owners with booths and/or speaking on panels: Buunni Coffee cafes in upper Manhattan and a roaster in The Bronx, the cafe and roaster Solid State Coffee on the Upper West Side, Brooklyn roaster Superlost, Nguyen Coffee Supply that specializes in Vietnamese coffee and the the multifaceted emporium Coffee Project New York. I encountered Yeri, a brand new coffee company that imports beans from South India.
Now for the disturbing part of the newsletter due to the announced tariffs and ensuing chaos. As I’m sure you know, the US does not produce coffee, with the exception of Hawaii, Puerto Rico (in fact I met an amazing group of coffee growers from Puerto Rico part of Café del Futuro) and maybe California. But nearly all coffee sold in the US is imported from abroad, the US consumes an enormous amount, approximately $8.2 billion-worth in 2023, Statista reports.
Tariffs range in percentages, some at 10%, but others, like Vietnam that primarily grows the robusta bean, has the unfathomably high tariff of 46%, which is ludicrous. Apparently Trump and Vietnam’s Lo Tam have talked and could be working out a deal. But if these tariffs remain, they will cripple scores of independent coffee businesses in New York City and beyond, or cause them to shut down entirely.
Trump seems to relish CEOs and heads of state kissing the ring, so to speak, whether it’s CEOs asking for exemptions as Sen Chris Murphy describes, or heads of state negotiating deals that benefit the US. The National Coffee Association has asked the Trump administration for an exemption.
One of the rationales behind tariffs is to incentivize bringing manufacturing back to the US, but in the case of coffee, it doesn’t make logical sense. The Fresh Cup coffee tracker made by Garrett Oden will be interesting to follow.
TARIFFS AND INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES IN NEW YORK CITY
The markets continues to tank since Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement, economists like Justin Wolfers in this segment and Paul Krugman in this interview say the tariffs are bad for the US economy and catastrophic for developing countries. Some tariffs have already gone into effect, others are slated for April 9.
Journalist Fareed Zakaria, who I don’t always agree with, summarized his thoughts on tariffs in his CNN piece and a bite size social media post, as did The Economist’s Henry Curr here. However, what I think many journalists and economists don’t understand is that since income inequality is so extreme in the US, around 11% of US citizens live in poverty, that’s 38 million, and the wealthiest 10% controls 60% of the wealth, the bottom half controls 6%, the US doesn’t feel like a rich country to many citizens, despite the benefits of living in a first world country. Trump’s rhetoric about the US being victimized by these other countries is ridiculous, but might ring true to some people living in poverty in the US.
A few articles that explain how tariffs will negatively impact New York City’s small businesses include an Eater article about Yun Hai specializing in Taiwanese goods by Erika Adams, another Eater article about various food purveyors by Jaya Saxena and Bettina Makalintala, CeFaan Kim’s Channel 7 piece about K. K. Discount and this CNBC article by Lori Ann LaRocco about Anjali’s Cup sourcing ingredients like turmeric. Andrew Chen, the co-founder of 3sixteen made this very helpful post about their made in the USA denim, spoiler alert: tariffs still negatively impact the business.
The tariff news is changing fast and who knows what will still be relevant between the time I hit “send” and you read this newsletter. Some Trump supporters—not the true believers, but billionaire Bill Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square, who is a more recent Trump supporter—has changed his mind on tariffs, which he previously supported. In this Twitter post from yesterday he writes that Trump should put tariffs on a three month pause because ”… we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter...” more in this BBC article.
Small Business Admin Administrator Kelly Loeffler (trigger warning, it’s on Fox News) supports Trump’s tariffs. Who is looking out for small business owners?
The Small Business Majority, one of this newsletter’s wonderful sponsors, is having a webinar geared for small businesses on April 15 at 2pm, touching on tariffs, immigration and federal funds. It’s free but you have to sign up here.
Another resource is the Specialty Food Association (SFA). I attended a free webinar about the tariffs with attorney Leah Scarpelli who understands the tariffs inside and out. It was extremely helpful, here are several explanatory slides.
QUEENS NIGHT MARKET PREVIEW
On a more cheerful note, in fact, a magnificent note, is the return of the Queens Night Market. This outdoor marketplace is now in its 10th year, founded by John Wang and takes place in Flushing Meadow Corona Park on Saturday nights.
I was lucky enough to attend the preview at e.terra Kitchen in Harlem last week. New vendors served outstanding Vietnamese pho, Ukrainian knishes with horseradish sauce, Malaysian beef rendang and Colombian aborrajados, among other global treats.
Queens Night Market’s 100 or so vendors serve dishes rooted in global cuisines, it was ranked as one of the best city food festivals in the US and has been the launching pad for numerous food businesses, now in operation throughout New York City.
The market officially opens on April 12, it’s a ticketed preview event, but every Saturday night afterwards will be the usual free outdoor food marketplace, 4pm to midnight. Wang and the vendors, collectively, decided to keep each food item at $6, so the marketplace can be affordable to everyone. The Queens Night Market season runs until October 16 with a pause in late August, early September for the US Open.
ELIZABETH STREET GARDEN
Patti Smith played a surprise mini show at the magical Elizabeth Street Garden last week, a block away from the Bowery. The garden is an oasis of green, tweeting birds, trees and garden sculpture, a much needed green space for the neighborhood, but is slated for demolition. The city wants to develop a complex that would include 123 units of “affordable housing” for the elderly, retail and office spaces, called Haven Green.
I put quotes around “affordable housing” because I’m skeptical of the meaning unless square footage and dollar amounts are stated, many times these developments turn out to be unaffordable to the people who need them most and in 60 years all the units could be converted to market rate housing.
My favorite part of Patti Smith’s performance is when she said how much we need these green spaces in the middle of urban neighborhoods, not only for environmental reasons but for human reasons. We need places to ponder, think, get creative. There indeed is a housing crisis, but there are alternative spots in the district for these 123 units, put forth by the Elizabeth Street Garden.
IMMIGRANT HERITAGE WEEK AWARDS
Accompany Capital—yes, one of this newsletter’s wonderful sponsors—will have its 13th annual Immigrant Heritage Week Awards ceremony on April 22nd at 7pm. It’s free, on Zoom, but you have to pre-register. The annual event celebrates New York City’s small business owners who enrich the city streets and boost the economy.
This year’s keynote speaker is none other than John Wang, yes, that John Wang, founder of Queens Night Market (see a few posts up). The theme of this year’s awards ceremony is “The World at Your Fingertips: Growing New York Businesses”.
Related, I am beyond thrilled to be working on a new project with Accompany Capital called "The World at Your Fingertips: Neighborhood Businesses of New York City". I’ll give a short summary of the project during the event. All I’ll say now (I will be “social media-ing” aaalll about it very soon) is sign up for Accompany Capital’s Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.
MALAI ICE CREAM COOKBOOK EVENT ALERT
Pooja Bavishi, founder of New York City-based Malai Ice Cream, has written an ice cream-centric cookbook Malai, Frozen Desserts Inspired by South Asian Flavors. April 8 is the official pub day. In celebration, Bavishi is having several ice cream themed events in New York City and beyond, a sundae and book extravaganza in the Smith Street shop on April 9 and a “Celebration of Sweetness” event on April 23 at Seward Park Library.
Thank you to Mercantile Mayhem’s sponsor Accompany Capital. Based in New York City, Accompany Capital, a CDFI, helps immigrants and refugees with loans and financial services. Please read about it here.
Thank you to Small Business Majority, Mercantile Mayhem’s sponsor. SBM supports and empowers small businesses across the US with a focus on public policy. Please read about SBM here.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPONSOR MERCANTILE MAYHEM?
Yes, I am still looking for one additional sponsor, three in total, the individuals, businesses, organizations or foundations that believe independent businesses in New York City need to survive. Do you want a city full of just Chipotles, Starbucks and bank ATMs? Do you value the character that independent businesses bring to New York City?
If you would like to know sponsorship rates and newsletter stats (open rates and such) please email me: ninarobertsnyc@gmail.com and I’ll send you the details. Please forward this newsletter to others.
OPPORTUNITIES
Rémy Martin This is My City $20K grant will be awarded to emerging entrepreneurs in New York City working in music, art or culture. Deadline is soon, April 11, 2025 at 6pm. Apply here.
WomensNet offers a number of grants to women-owned businesses on a rolling basis, peruse grant information here.
Small businesses in New York City could win a micro grant up to $5,000 through CitizensNYC. Plan ahead, a new grant cycle opens on May 5, 2025, deadline is July 25, 2025.
NYC Boss Up NYCHA, pitch competition applications are open for entrepreneurs who are NYCHA or Section 8 residents in “good standing”. Winners will receive a grant of $20,000. Deadline is April 30, 2025; applications submitted by April 1, 2025 will be offered feedback and applicants can resubmit their application. Apply here.
NYC Boss Up Veterans, planning ahead… pitch competition applications for entrepreneurs who are veterans of the US military will be open July 1, 2025. Children, siblings, spouses or parents of a Gold Star Family, or military spouses, are also eligible. Winners will receive a grant of $20,000. Applications close September 15, 2025, click here for more information.