Brooklyn’s Poetica Cafe To Replace Former Gem Spa On St Marks

The iconic St Marks newsstand and candy shop finally has a suitable replacement.

Poetica Coffee is a new brand of coffee shops that seeks to redefine both coffee and remote work one cup at a time. The concept was established by founder Parviz Mukhmadkulov in response to the changes in New York’s work culture brought on by the 2020 pandemic. Spending his formative years watching his father work as a coffee distributor, Parviz grew up with a dream of one day running a coffee shop of his own design. When the pandemic rattled the city in 2020, Parviz realized that the challenges called for a new breed of coffee shop, one that encouraged the growing trend of telework and would provide customers with a quiet working atmosphere and premium coffee options. Offering everything from on-site printing to quiet rooms for Zoom video conversations, Poetica Coffee is leading the charge for a new era of coffee shops.

Today, Poetica Coffee operates seven locations across Brooklyn as well as one other in Manhattan. Each location is distinct from one another, and is designed to compliment the needs of every neighborhood. Every store is designed to be an “urban oasis” and a “home away from home where you can work, gather, and unwind.” Now, after only two years of opertion and steady expansion in Brooklyn, Poetica Coffee is gearing up to launch a brand new space in the East Village.

Poetica Coffee’s latest expansion will see the cafe opening up a brand new space at 36 St Marks Place. The location was previously home to Gem Spa, an East Village icon that had been in operation since the 1920’s. As one of the most historic spaces on St Marks, the store had become something of a symbol of the East Village itself, and was referenced in numerous works of art from the neighborhood, including pieces by Patti Smith, Allen Ginsberg, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Lou Reed. Known especially well for their famous Egg Creams, Gem Spa sadly closed in 2020 despite fervent efforts from locals to preserve the space.

Thankfully, the historic space will not remain vacant much longer, as Parviz has just secured the lease for the space and soon will be opening up Poetica Coffee’s first East Village location. The location features about 850 square feet of space and is expected to feature an additional sidewalk cafe. According to EV Grieve, Parviz is looking forward to honoring the legacy of the space and has even reached out to Gem Spa owner Parul Patel, offering to sell Gem Spa merchandise free of charge.

While Parviz and his team still have a lot of work ahead of them before they can open the space to the public, you can follow Poetica Coffee on Instagram for future updates as the story develops.