Hell's Kitchen's Empire Coffee & Tea Closes After 112 Years

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — Longtime Hell's Kitchen coffee store Empire Coffee & Tea is closing its doors after more than 100 years in business, according to a sign placed in the business' window.

The Ninth Avenue store — which specialized in a wide variety of beans, teas, grommet foods and curated gift baskets — will shut down on Friday, April 24, Hell's Kitchen magazine W42st reported.

"It is with a heavy heart that we will be closing for good April 24, 2020. We appreciated your business over the last 112 years. While we will be gone from NYC, we won't be out," business owners wrote in a sign placed in the Ninth Avenue storefront's window.

The Empire Coffee & Tea location in Hoboken will remain open, according to the sign.

Empire Coffee & Tea traces its roots back to 1908. The flagship Hell's Kitchen store has operated out of the same building on Ninth Avenue and West 41st Street since its founding, a rare feat for any business in New York City.

"The Ninth Avenue Empire Coffee and Tea Company is not a pretty little boutique shop. Nope. This store is all about fresh ground coffee and unique tea ... lots of it. Bags and bags of every imaginable fresh roasted goumet coffee from around the world cover the walls and floor. The selection is dazzling and the smell: intoxicating," the company's website reads.