| August 25, 2007 |
For some people, their level of happiness is directly proportional to the number of caffeine purveyors in their neighborhood. I’m one of those people. And thanks to Francine and her daughter Traci, I just got a little happier.
This Saturday, Francine and Traci will be opening twofiftyeight Cafe, a wonderfully cozy dining spot on an otherwise unremarkable stretch of Malcolm X Boulevard. This cafe will be a beacon for my caffeine-addicted brethren who live nearby.
I stopped by the cafe two days ago to see how things were coming along and I found Francine busy tying up loose ends and readying the space for its weekend opening. She was quite friendly and really energetic and she took some time out of her busy schedule to tell me about the place. She’s really excited about the opening of her cafe.
The “twofiftyeight” in the name doesn’t come from the address (because it’s actually located at 199 Malcolm X Boulevard), but from the name of Francine’s beloved junior high school. She attended Bedford-Stuyvesant’s David Ruggles Junior High School (P.S. 258), located at Macon Street near Marcy Avenue. She has several items in her cafe that are reminders of her school days: cafe postcards show a picture of Francine’s graduating class (maybe a junior high graduation?), chalkboards adorn the walls and some good old fashioned school benches are on display in the seating area. Â
 A chalkboard heralds tomorrow’s opening.
Twofiftyeight carries all of the necessary things for getting an honest day’s work done: wireless internet access, gourmet coffees, espresso, cappucino, lattes, teas, baked goods, smoothies and soups. It’s definitely a place to visit each morning on your way to work. This cafe brings a long-overdue boost to this strip of the Stuy.
Make sure to stop by this weekend. The cafe opens Saturday at 7:00 a.m. with the grand opening event taking place at 10:00 a.m. See you there!
twofiftyeight Cafe
199 Malcolm X Boulevard (between Jefferson and Putnam)
Regular Hours: 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Mon through Fri, 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Sat, 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Sun
Opens: Saturday, August 25th at 7:00 a.m.
Grand Opening Event: Saturday, August 25th at 10:00 a.m.
Tel 718.618.0432
For more information contact francine@twofiftyeightcafe.com or tracilea@twofiftyeight.com
24 August 2007, 11:08 am
sounds lovely and not terribly far from my new place.
i’ll be sure to check it out!
25 August 2007, 10:48 am
Ooo! I had no idea this was coming! I can’t wait to visit it this weekend!
25 August 2007, 1:12 pm
Changeling, I completely agree, the more caffeine, the better. In Bed Stuy, the coffee should be mixed in with the paint and added to the water, with the resulting grounds mixed in with the soil.
25 August 2007, 3:32 pm
I stopped by today and got a smoothie, it is going to be a great addition to the community. i highly recommend
26 August 2007, 9:10 pm
More cafes like this please!!!! I will be heading there myself!!!I weent to tiny cup today, i loved it
just a bit far
since I am on Green btw patchen & Bway
28 August 2007, 9:04 am
we are excited to visit..Moving to jefferson btwn patchen and ralph next week! Coffee Coffee Coffee!
28 August 2007, 9:47 am
Spoken like a true connoisseur of the brew!
29 August 2007, 7:16 pm
My dad and I stopped by today for some iced coffee. The shop is very cute and cozy!! The owners were friendly and the coffee was great too. Wonderful addition to the neighborhood.
30 August 2007, 12:16 pm
Hello! Do you know if there’s wifi at this cafe? Electrical outlets for laptops?
30 August 2007, 1:22 pm
They do have internet access. I can’t recall if I saw outlets or not (but that’s just because I wasn’t looking).
31 August 2007, 8:16 am
One of the owners had a laptop open when I was there, and she wasn’t behind the counter, so maybe. But I didn’t look either.
15 September 2007, 2:43 pm
this place is amazing!!! The energy is great. The purveyors have fabulous energy and make great conversation. The coffee and the donut I had were a nice break in my day. Definitely going back.Great look for the neighborhood.
15 September 2007, 5:33 pm
It’s about time something like this happened on Malcolm X…we need more places like “258cafe”, can you imagine when 90% of all the commercial spaces on MX Blvd. has something going on, and I’m not talking about 50more corner stores or nail and hair salons…lol
Good for you 258cafe
Hey! here is an idea. lets all support 258CAFE