Cafe 23 Coming to the Corner of Steinway Street and 23rd Ave

A new cafe is opening up on the northwest corner of Steinway Street and 23rd Avenue—thanks for WHA reader Karissa R. for sharing this photo above, who mentions “it’s been closed for years.” At first look, it seems like a perfect location for folks coming or going to this summer’s Ditmars Park Youthmarket, and for locals in this area of Astoria. But first, about the space.

For many years, this was the location of Dom’s Home Improvement, a general contractor in the area. In 2013 a car crashed into the building that was bad enough that the FDNY was called out to inspect the structural integrity; a violation was filed in May 2013, “FAILURE TO MAINTAIN BUILDING DUE TO CAR ACCIDENT.” There was a subsequent renovation turning it into what it is now, a little cafe.

The ad for the space last year makes me chuckle with its gratuitous use of “hip,” a dreaded word among many Astorians: “Steinway Street corner property. Great visibility, no competition for local merchant to put hip coffee, tea, sandwich shop to service neighborhood.” The space came with all brand new equipment for the new tenant, including furniture, appliances, and electrical. I mean, look at all the new equipment the cafe owner got with the place:

Top of the line appliances which include the ice maker, panini machine, espresso, coffee maker, toaster, grill, hood, triple stainless steel sink, glass door below counter freezer for ice cream, desserts, gelato, refrigerator with double glass door for cold refreshments, curved glass sandwich, cheese, meat display refrigerator, ice maker, espresso machine, fryer, electric grill, and hood.

Nice. Here are some more photos:

I looked for contact info for the owners, but came up with a big fat goose egg on that front—there’s no sign of any social media presence by them, either. However, a Brooklyn-based artist, OgieRoks, created some art for the inside and posted it on his Instagram account:

Finally done with this wall I did for CAFE 23 in Astoria, Queens.. new Cafe opening up next month.. check them out at 22-80 Steinway Street. #ogieroks #painting #mural #nycartist #streetart #wip #contemporaryart #spraypaint #artist #popart #modernart #colors #streetart #graffiti #instagood #picoftheday #astoria #cofeeshop #cafe23

A photo posted by OgieRoks (@ogieroks) on Apr 17, 2016 at 6:20pm PDT

You can read more about OgieRocks, here. He’s a full-time artist and has spent time in the NYC skater and street art communities.

Welcome to the neighborhood, Cafe 23. We look forward to stopping by!

Cafe 23 (22-80 Steinway Street, Astoria)

One Comment

Durra December 17th, 2016

I just moved in this neighborhood on 12/1. Now Cafe 23 has become my favorite spot!

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