The Blank Street founders talk cold brew, the surprising reason they’re not opening in Los Angeles, and—yes—the trolls.
This is a story about coffee. It’s also about V.C. funding. But it starts with coffee, two young immigrants and a single coffee cart in Williamsburg. That’s the origin story behind Blank Street, founded by Issam Freiha and Vinay Menda, which suddenly feels inescapable. Though the company was founded in 2020, there are already something like 45 locations in New York City plus outposts in Boston, Washington D.C., and London.
The pitch was simple: in a world of precious, pour-over coffee, Blank Street would be a more affordable