Aug. 11, 2014 By Michael Florio
60 Beans café, located at 36-02 Ditmars Blvd, opened its doors today.
The café’s coffee menu will feature pour over coffee, ice coffee on tap and a full espresso bar as it looks to embrace two cultures; the “undeniable American café scene,” and the “European espresso bar,” said manager Paolo Maliksi.
The café– which also sells sandwiches, salads and pastries—is likely to offer wine and beer in coming months. Panos Voyiatzis, the owner, has applied for a license, although he is not sure when it will come through.
The café received a lot of interest from the community as its opening grew closer, which led to a buzz on the first day. Maliksi said that by mid day, the café had rung up more than 300 sales.
“We are glad to be a place in the community that people can get excited about,” Maliksi said. “They can now receive city [Manhattan] quality coffee in their own neighborhood.”
The cafe will be be open from 7am to 9pm Monday through Thursday, and until 10pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The cafe can seat around 50 people, which consists of about 35-40 seats inside and a sidewalk seating area that can cater to about 12 people.
Voyiatzis owns the popular Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company located one block away. He grew up on Ditmars Blvd (and 35th Street) and has lived in Astoria for 35 years.
The café is named after Beethoven’s belief that “60 beans” should always go into a cup of coffee.