The news that First Avenue java joint The Bean is closing (temporarily before reopening down the street) to be replaced by yet another Starbucks has some folks (including our commenters) quite upset. But you guys are looking at this all wrong: We're living in a great time for fans of coffee in the East Village! The Bean isn't leaving the hood, its just leaving its current building. Plus, its brief displacement really just means that you've got a chance to try out some of the neighborhoods many other high quality spots for a cuppa. To that end, here are seven non-Starbucks coffee houses in the neighborhood worth your time—and this list doesn't include all the great coffee available in restaurants (i.e. Peels) and delis across the hood.
Oh, and to all those people moaning about Starbucks being on every corner we would like to remind you that it once was worse. There was once a time when you could stand at the Alamo in Astor Place and see three different Starbucks! Yeah, we had it tough in our day.
