Welcome to Grounds Café!
Where community is built, one coffee at a time!
A space where every story matters, every voice counts, and our shared humanity is the only admissibility criteria.
A place that serves more than coffee: A place of refuge and welcome, where people from diverse backgrounds gather to listen, learn, and imagine bold, shared solutions to the challenges we face.
Our Story
A journey of empowerment, community, and coffee excellence in the heart of the Bronx.
A coffee shop committed to reframing current narratives and fostering community in the Bronx and beyond. Located in Little Italy near Fordham University, Grounds Cafe will train and employ women from the Bronx, boosting the local economy and empowering women, while providing a welcoming space for people from diverse backgrounds, students, professors, and other community residents.
The Grounds Café started as an idea generated by a group of women activists, aiming to create safe and healthy communities around them. The idea was presented at the Fordham Foundry competition in 2023-2024 – as an income-generating opportunity aiming to empower women, support local communities, and create a vibrant community hub, where every story matters. Of 185 competitors, our team ended as one of four finalists, and thus gained visibility and momentum for the next step.
Over the past year, we strategized, networked, and innovated on how to make this dream a reality. Through our partnership with Grupo del Mujeres Latinas and the Belmont Community, under the leadership of Dr. Trena Yonkers-Talz, we were able to secure a space for the café. Yoannis Coffee Chef Holdings donated the coffee making equipment and the first load of coffee beans, and trained our aspiring baristas. A total of eight women from the community participated in the training, and prepared for the NYS Food Handling Certification.
At our soft opening on September 3rd, we had over 35 people joining us to show their support, spread the word, offer their services and donations. A dedicated team worked on preparing everyone for the Grand Opening on October 1st, 2025.
More Than a Coffee Shop
Grounds Cafe is more than a coffee shop; it aims to become a community open space. We will highlight the stories of women from the community, through art displayed on our walls and crafts available for purchase. Our café will host conversation hours, training sessions, and collaborative opportunities, creating connections among people of diverse backgrounds.
A collaborative space where Fordham students will be matched with children from families in the community and will work with them one-on-one to provide weekly homework help/tutoring, and mentorship.
Paired with people from the community for conversation hours, helping community members improve their English language skills and students improve their Spanish or French conversational skills. Conversation hours will take place weekly, aiming to deepen a sense of community.
A wellness space, providing mental health tips and resources, as well as monthly workshops and wellness sessions for women of diverse backgrounds, mothers, and youth.
A place of employment for women in the community, providing job training and guidance on career development.
An innovation hub where ideas will be developed, stories will be shared, and community members will work with women activists, Fordham students, and leaders of local organizations to develop practical solutions to complex community challenges.
A safe space where people with diverse backgrounds can access training on rights and services available to them in the Bronx and beyond.
An artistic hub, inviting local artists to share their art and learn about coffee and tea making rituals from around the world.
A venue for innovation, collaboration and mutual support, engaging with local businesses and other employers, and opening alternative paths to employment for people in local communities.
Join us for a sip and the launching of a dream.
By fostering inclusive communities, the Grounds Café aims to enhance wellbeing and contribute to improved social, educational, economic, and health outcomes, while centering local voices and fostering leadership from the community, for the community. Changing the narrative, and promoting togetherness, one coffee at a time.