Tom Tsiplakos and Stefanos Vouvoudakis are teaching New Yorkers all about good coffee, not only do they wholesale their coffee beans around the city, but they’ve also opened up some cool cafes across America and even in Athens Greece, offering high quality and great tasting caffeine.
Co-owners Stefanos and Tom met in third grade in their Whitestone, Queens classroom, and Stefanos said in 2011, the pair ventured into the specialty coffee roasting and wholesale business, For Five.
The two best friends from Queens had an idea of introducing specialty coffee to New Yorkers and For Five is the complete one stop coffee shop, by providing cupping, roasting, importing and distributing coffee, while also supplying equipment and providing tech services.
They built their roasting facility in Maspeth, Queens, in 2016 and already have two stores in Manhattan on West 46th Street and inside One World Trade Center.
The pair also decided they wanted to venture east to Manhasset for their flagship Long Island location, which just opened up.
Along with 30 single-origin roasts and 16 blends, the new location will serve breakfast and lunch treats including scones with bacon jam, buckwheat pancakes, Spanakopita and more. Located at 292 Plandome Road at Park Avenue, For Five Coffee will also be delivering orders to the nearby Manhasset train station for those needing a coffee hit and a quick bite on their way to work.
“This has been a labour of love,” Stefanos says. “Every time we open a new store, we try to think what we can do better, what we can add to this location, and how we can elevate our customers' experience. This is not just another specialty café; this is a roaster from New York who knows how to buy good coffee paired with the food and pastry program we feel is a perfect match for our brand.”
In the past ten years, For Five has taken off with coffee shops across New York City and into Los Angeles, Boston, Washington DC, Virginia, Chicago, and even Athens. Our passion for perfection, freshly roasted coffee has stayed the same throughout this growth. For Five thrives on the energy of the city it calls home.
By sourcing, cupping, roasting, importing and distributing coffee, while also supplying equipment and providing tech services, For Five has become a one-stop shop for all things coffee-related. Our business is sharing that with you. Here’s to being in your cup, no matter where you are. From the Five Boroughs. For the World.
