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"Located at 409 West 125th Street, I Like It Black is a new neighborhood coffee shop launched by Aliyyah Baylor, a third‑generation baker who opened it to center representation in New York’s coffee scene. I learned the shop will spotlight a different Black- or Latinx-owned roaster each quarter (starting with Merge Coffee Company) and will also serve Intelligentsia Coffee. During its soft opening it offers a short menu of hot and cold beverages (open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily), including specialty in-house drinks like a Southern-style cold brew made with cane sugar, a stick of vanilla bean, and a third ingredient disclosed off the record; the shop plans to add a full menu of coffee-themed pastries (coffee cake, espresso chocolate chip cookies), expand hours, and add sidewalk seating soon. There’s no sign yet, but with a Starbucks about a five-minute walk away Baylor expects a captive neighborhood audience." - Luke Fortney
Specialty coffee, pastries, and breakfast sandwiches from Black-owned shop