GROUND CENTRAL COFFEE

Your home away from home

Challenge

With Starbucks, FIKA, Little Collins, Blue Bottle and so many other coffee shops in Midtown Manhattan the challenge to open a brand new place that everyday New Yorkers will love and visit, was huge. Starbucks in one corner of the street and Paris Bakery Coffeeshop on the other corner.

Ground Central was ‘dead’ in the middle of the street. The area is full of corporate offices which means busy early mornings, and during lunchtime, but completely dead after 6 pm. We were the new kid on the block and ‘big bullies’ owned the street. We had to step up our game.

Solution

Ground Central Coffee Co.'s mission was to bring a better coffee option to Midtown Manhattan. However, during the discovery phase, we identified the space and the interior design of GC was magical, and we made it a central piece of our approach. We couldn’t compete with the locations of the other coffee shop, but we were going to offer unique experiences for clients.

We created a positioning Home Away from Home that provides the feeling of coziness and calmness. We struck a partnership with Netflix to promote the return of the Gilmore Girls Show which attracted thousands of people to the shop. The free national press coverage gave us the opportunity to showcase the space and attract new customers.

Impact

Within two years Ground Central Coffee Co. became the most visited coffee shop in the neighborhood. The quick financial success of the first shop, without outside investors, allowed the owners to open six more locations in the city and cemented their reputation as the great New York City success story.

Understanding and articulating your strengths will always provide a foundation for success. We stuck to our unique value proposition and success followed.