Cafe Wha?
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1959
- HeadquartersNew York, New York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
Cafe Wha? firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cafe Wha?
- Website
- https://cafewha.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1959
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cafe Wha? industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Live Music Venue
- NAICS
- Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Full-Service Restaurants (722511)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Live Music Clubs & Venues (MPAGAIAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Supper Clubs & Dinner-Theater Restaurants (THAFACAL), Venue & Banquet Hall Catering (THAFAIAC)
Keywords
Where Cafe Wha? is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York, New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Cafe Wha? business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Live Music Tickets: Revenue from ticketed live music events and shows at the venue. The Cafe Wha? House Band performs regularly, and special events such as the Cafe Wha? Cruise are sold via Eventbrite.
- Food and Beverage Sales: Restaurant and bar sales during live music performances and private events. The venue operates with a full menu.
- Private Event Rentals: Revenue from hosting private events including weddings, corporate events, large group gatherings, and full club buyouts. Dedicated inquiry and reservation pages exist for these bookings.
- Merchandise Sales: The venue operates an online shop (cafewha.myshopify.com) selling branded merchandise.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Cafe Wha? product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cafe Wha? is a historic live music venue and cafe-restaurant located in Greenwich Village, New York City, founded in 1959. The venue operates a house band performing live music every Wednesday through Sunday, runs a restaurant serving drinks and a menu of light fare, and offers private event services including large group bookings and weddings. It also sells branded merchandise through an online shop and hosts an annual Cafe Wha? Cruise event.
Product overview
Cafe Wha? is a live music venue and restaurant in New York City's Greenwich Village, operating since 1959. The company offers a portfolio of entertainment and hospitality services organized around its core live music performances. The primary offerings include live music shows featuring The Cafe Wha? House Band (performing Wednesday through Sunday), a full restaurant menu, ticketing and reservation services, private event hosting for groups and weddings, and seasonal cruise events. A merchandise shop operates through a separate Shopify storefront.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- House Band Live Performances Live music performances by the resident house band held every Wednesday through Sunday at the Greenwich Village venue, open to ticketed patrons.
- Tickets and Reservations Ticketed entry to live music performances and advance table reservations managed through the Eventbrite online ticketing platform.
- Cafe Restaurant and Bar Menu Restaurant and bar service offering drinks and a menu of light fare to walk-in and ticketed patrons at the Greenwich Village location.
- Private Events for Large Groups Private event bookings for large groups hosted at the Cafe Wha? venue, including customized food and beverage service.
- Weddings and Private Events Dedicated wedding and private event hosting service at the historic Cafe Wha? venue, with event coordination support.
- The Cafe Wha? Cruise Annual themed cruise event featuring the Cafe Wha? brand and live entertainment experience.
- Online Merchandise Shop Online shop selling branded Cafe Wha? merchandise including T-shirts, hoodies, and accessories.
Companies that use Cafe Wha?
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Cafe Wha? technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Cafe Wha? partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cafe Wha? competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Village Vanguard: Historic Greenwich Village jazz club operating since 1935, with nightly ticketed performances and bar service. Comparable to Cafe Wha? as a heritage NYC live music venue deeply tied to the Greenwich Village music scene.
- Mercury Lounge: Lower East Side NYC live music venue offering nightly ticketed performances with bar service. Directly comparable to Cafe Wha? in format, scale (small-to-mid venue), ticketing model, and target audience of live music enthusiasts.
- Arlene's Grocery: Lower East Side NYC live music venue offering nightly ticketed performances alongside bar service. Comparable to Cafe Wha? as a NYC neighborhood live music venue with bar revenue and a similar event-driven ticketing model.
- BB King Blues Club & Grill: NYC live music venue in Times Square offering ticketed shows with full restaurant and bar service and private event hosting. Directly comparable to Cafe Wha? in combining live music ticketing, full F&B menu, and dedicated private event/B2B bookings.
- Blue Note Jazz Club: Premier NYC jazz venue in Greenwich Village combining nightly ticketed live performances with full dinner and bar service. Directly comparable to Cafe Wha? in combining live music ticketing, full F&B, and a strong private events business targeting tourists and music fans.
- Joe's Pub: Intimate NYC live music venue inside The Public Theater offering nightly ticketed performances with food and bar service. Comparable to Cafe Wha? as a ticketed live music + F&B venue in NYC catering to enthusiasts and private event clients.
- The Bitter End: Iconic Greenwich Village live music venue operating since 1961, offering nightly live music with a cover charge and bar service. Directly comparable to Cafe Wha? in heritage, neighborhood, format, and target audience of live music enthusiasts and tourists.
- Brooklyn Bowl: Multi-concept NYC venue combining live music, bowling, and full bar/restaurant service. Comparable to Cafe Wha? as a ticketed live music venue with strong F&B, private event capabilities, and a recognizable brand extending beyond just concerts.
Broad incumbents
- House of Blues: National chain of live music venues combining ticketed concerts with full Southern-inspired dining and private events. Comparable to Cafe Wha? as a music-anchored F&B venue with private event hosting, though operating at chain scale with broader geographic reach.
- Hard Rock Cafe: Global chain of music-themed restaurants with memorabilia, live music programming, merchandise, and private event hosting. Comparable to Cafe Wha? in combining music branding, F&B, merchandise, and live entertainment as core revenue streams, though at a much larger scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Cafe Wha? social profiles
Digital presenceCafe Wha? financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cafe Wha? leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Cafe Wha? funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cafe Wha? M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cafe Wha?
What does Cafe Wha? do?
Cafe Wha? is a historic live music venue and cafe-restaurant located in Greenwich Village, New York City, founded in 1959. The venue operates a house band performing live music every Wednesday through Sunday, runs a restaurant serving drinks and a menu of light fare, and offers private event services including large group bookings and weddings. It also sells branded merchandise through an online shop and hosts an annual Cafe Wha? Cruise event.
Is Cafe Wha? a public or private company?
Cafe Wha? is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Cafe Wha? founded?
Cafe Wha? was founded in 1959. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Cafe Wha? based?
Cafe Wha? is headquartered in New York, New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Cafe Wha? make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Live Music Tickets are the primary driver. The others are food and Beverage Sales, private Event Rentals and merchandise Sales.
Who are Cafe Wha?'s main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Village Vanguard, Mercury Lounge, Arlene's Grocery, BB King Blues Club & Grill, Blue Note Jazz Club, Joe's Pub, The Bitter End and Brooklyn Bowl. Broad incumbents are House of Blues and Hard Rock Cafe.
Does Cafe Wha? have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cafe Wha?.
What industry is Cafe Wha? in?
Cafe Wha?'s product category is Live Music Venue. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGAIAB, Live Music Clubs & Venues, with a secondary code of THAFACAL, Supper Clubs & Dinner-Theater Restaurants. Its NAICS code is 722410 and its SIC code is 5810.