In 2015, shortly after being named the Community Partner on the Essex Crossing Development, Grand St. Settlement began planning the use of their new spaces in the Frances Goldin Building. At 168 Broome St. was a bright, spacious room that would soon come to be known as GrandLo Cafe, a social enterprise with a mission to create career pathways for neighborhood youth.

GrandLo Cafe launched on March 16th, 2018, and in the next two years more than 100 youth would graduate from the training program with thousands of customers passing through the doors. Serving as the first business to open in Essex Crossing, GrandLo Cafe quickly became a neighborhood hangout serving sandwiches, salads, and Counter Culture Coffee.

In March of 2020, with COVID-19 dismantling much of New York City, Grand St. Settlement decided to close GrandLo Cafe as a business and reopen it as a Community Resource Center. Opening soon, the center will provide walk-in resources spanning from legal services to food distribution to unemployment assistance and more.

As the needs of the community have changed, so has GrandLo. We're proud to serve our community in any way we can.