The owners of a coffee business with a location in Manhasset have announced that they will soon start work on a similar shop in Port Washington.
Founded in 2010 by Stefanos Vouvoudakis and Tom Tsiplakos, both of Whitestone, Queens, For Five began as a seller of specialty coffee beans to restaurants and wholesale accounts before the company opened its first cafe in 2016, in Times Square. More locations followed, including one cafe in Astoria, Queens; four in Manhattan, including Times Square, Brookfield Place, Liberty Plaza and 1 World Trade Center; two in Virginia, including Arlington and Alexandria; and one each in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles.
In 2018, the company opened its flagship Long Island store at 292 Plandome Road in Manhasset, and it is embarking on a Port Washington location set for next summer, according to Tracy Imhof, vice president of marketing.
“Our Port Washington location is probably going to be the most special one yet,” she said in a phone interview.
Imhof said that a Port location has been in development for two years while the company met with landlords, but the owners decided to buy a building at 24 Main St. instead, with the intention of building the “crown jewel” of For Five’s cafes.
Plans call for the first of the building’s two floors to be styled similarly to the business’ other shops, albeit with an enclosed glass space for meetings that will be available for rent, according to Imhof.
“That space will be like a VIP area,” she said.
The second floor, Imhof said, will comprise office space for company leadership and employees.
“A lot of the For Five team will be working out of there,” Imhof said. “We’re actually able to be on-site, as well as go downstairs and interact with all the customers, because we really care about having a best-in-class experience and quality customer service. These are things we’re really big on and things that our owners really value.”
Once the first two floors are constructed, Imhof said, the company is considering building a rooftop deck on the building as well.
“Once everything is sort of built out, that’s gonna be next on our repertoire,” she said.
Imhof said that construction will be underway “more towards the beginning of the year,” and the cafe will most likely open in spring or summer of 2021.
“We’ve just learned so much when it comes to architecture and design,” Imhof said. “We’re always thinking about every point of view, whether it’s a customer or a barista. This location is really gonna push that so it can be the best it can for every possible person coming in. I think it’s really going to give the people in Port Washington and throughout all of Long Island a chance to personally know For Five a little bit more.”
