Sure, New York certainly doesn’t need yet another juice bar, but Tiny Empire — which launched in Williamsburg in 2012, and just opened on Lafayette Street — stands out from the rest. To start, the shops, which are rooted in skateboarding culture, are as cool and independent as juice bars get — small and personal like Melvin’s Juice Box, and not as sterile as say, Organic Avenue. (The new Soho location features a mural created by Richard Phillips.) And while you’ll find the typical green juices and raw-cacao smoothies, founder Anthony Spadaro also sells raw, organic food that’s actually appealing. It’s no wonder the Brooklyn location has attracted a cult following.
At the Lafayette Street outpost, which opened on Friday, you’ll find great versions of healthy mainstays like an açai bowl, coconut-yogurt parfait, and, of course, a kale salad with nutritional yeast. Plus: The raw chocolate-chip cookies are strikingly similar to the ones at One Lucky Duck, which is currently (and likely, forever) closed because of owner Sarma Melngailis’s legal nightmare. Take a look at a few of the other offerings:
Tiny Empire, 234 Lafayette St., 718.599.5575
