Cornelia Street Cafe

What Cornelia Street Cafe does

The Cornelia Street Cafe is a single-location full-service French-American restaurant and cultural performance venue located at 29 Cornelia Street in the West Village of New York City. Founded on July 4, 1977 by three artists (Charles McKenna, Raphaela Pivetta, and Robin Hirsch), the cafe operates seven days a week serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch, with two full kitchens, two full bars offering more than thirty wines by the glass, and three dining rooms (one with a working fireplace), supplemented by a seasonal sidewalk cafe in summer.

Beyond restaurant service, the venue functions as a significant cultural platform hosting approximately 700 events per year with two performances nightly across science lectures, songwriting, poetry, jazz, theater, and cabaret. Programming includes the Entertaining Science series curated by Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffmann, and the cafe has historical ties to the early careers of artists such as Suzanne Vega and Eve Ensler (Vagina Monologues debuted at the venue). Private event hosting, holiday dining services (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day), and rotating wall art exhibitions round out the offerings.

Revenue is generated entirely through transaction-fee streams: standard a la carte restaurant pricing, variable performance cover charges, and bespoke private event packages. Reservations are handled via phone (212.989.9319) and OpenTable; there is no formal sales force. The business is privately held by founders Robin Hirsch, Angelo Verga, and chef Dan Latham with no evidence of external investment, parent company control, or public listing.

Name

Cornelia Street Cafe

Legal name

Cornelia Street Cafe

Website

https://corneliastreetcafe.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cornelia Street Cafe is a single-location full-service French-American restaurant and cultural performance venue in Greenwich Village, NYC, operating daily and hosting approximately 700 cultural events annually for local residents, arts patrons, and corporate event clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Restaurant and Live Performance Venue

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

All-Day Dining Restaurants (THAFACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Supper Clubs & Dinner-Theater Restaurants (THAFACAL), Special Occasion & Destination Restaurants (THAFACAK)

Keywords

• Full-service restaurant
• Live performance venue
• Private event hosting
• French-American bistro
• Cultural programming

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dining: Full-service French-American restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, dinner daily, and weekend brunch. Dinner service requires reservations. Menu includes daytime offerings, holiday special menus (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day).
2. Private Events: Catering and venue rental for corporate meetings, holiday parties, workshops, product launches, cocktail parties, birthdays, anniversaries, and showers. Separate upstairs restaurant and downstairs performance space available for rental. Offers customized party packages with personalized menu cards, on-site baking, wine tastings, and music performances.
3. Cultural Performances: Approximately 700 cultural events per year including science series, songwriting, poetry, jazz, theater, and cabaret. Two performances nightly. Downstairs performance space with bar service.
4. Holiday Dining: Special holiday dinner service including Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, and Valentine's Day. These sell out early and require advance reservations.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Cornelia Street Cafe operates a full-service French-American restaurant in Greenwich Village serving breakfast, lunch, dinner daily and weekend brunch, alongside a nightly performance venue hosting approximately 700 cultural events per year across two shows per evening. The business also rents space for private events including corporate meetings, holiday parties, product launches, and personal celebrations, with customized catering, on-site baking, and music performances.

Product overview

Cornelia Street Cafe is a single-location restaurant and cultural venue in Greenwich Village offering a unified hospitality experience combining restaurant services with live performance events. The core offerings include the full-service restaurant (open daily for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch), the performance program (approximately 700 cultural events annually across two shows per night), and private event/party hosting. Additional offerings include holiday dining services, rotating wall art exhibitions, and seasonal sidewalk cafe seating. The venue features two full kitchens, two bars, and three dining rooms including a fireplace-equipped room.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Restaurant Dining Full-service French-American restaurant open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus weekend brunch. Features two full kitchens, two bars serving more than thirty wines by the glass, and three dining rooms including one with a working fireplace. Dinner service requires reservations.
• Performance Events Nightly cultural performances in the downstairs performance space, featuring two shows per evening seven nights a week across programming including science, songwriting, Russian poetry, Latin jazz, theatre, and cabaret. Includes the Entertaining Science series curated by Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffmann.
• Private Events Venue rental for corporate meetings, holiday parties, workshops, product launches, cocktail parties, birthdays, anniversaries, and showers. Separate rooms in upstairs restaurant and downstairs performance space are available, with customized packages including personalized menu cards, on-site baking, wine tastings, and access to musicians and other talent.
• Private Party Packages Tailored party packages for brunch, lunch, dinner, and hors d'oeuvres/cocktail events featuring personalized menu cards, on-site birthday cake baking, wine tastings, and music performances.
• Holiday Dining Special holiday dinner services for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, and Valentine's Day with dedicated menus posted a month in advance. Holidays tend to sell out and require early reservations.
• Wall Art Exhibitions Rotating exhibitions of watercolors, Polaroids, portraits, sculptures, and costume paintings displayed on the cafe walls.
• Sidewalk Cafe Outdoor seating available during summer months, described as one of the Village's loveliest sidewalk cafes.

Quantifiable outcome

• 700+ cultural events hosted annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• OpenTableminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOpenTable provides online restaurant reservation services for the Cornelia Street Cafe. Customers can book dinner reservations through the OpenTable platform. The partnership enables the restaurant to capture online reservation bookings and manage seating capacity.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Minetta Tavern: Iconic Greenwich Village French-American steakhouse serving classic dishes in a heritage dining room; closely comparable as a Village-based French-American full-service restaurant with strong heritage brand equity.
• Cafe Wha?: Legendary MacDougal Street cafe and live music venue in Greenwich Village founded in 1959; directly comparable as a Village cafe combining casual dining with nightly live performance programming.
• Joe Allen: Theater-district American restaurant open since 1965, famous for its showbiz wall posters and industry regulars; closely comparable as a long-running NYC restaurant with strong arts-community identity and theatrical provenance.
• Cafe Reggio: Vintage Greenwich Village coffeehouse on MacDougal Street since 1927, known for its literary and artistic patronage atmosphere; directly comparable as a long-running Village cafe with cultural identity and casual sit-down service.
• Cafe Loup: Long-running West Village French bistro serving classic fare since 1977 (same founding year as the subject); comparable as a similarly aged Village French bistro with neighborhood institution status.
• The Lion's Head: Now-closed but historically notable West Village restaurant-bar that was a Village institution for writers and performers; comparable as a West Village restaurant-bar with deep cultural roots and a regulars-driven business.

Emerging players

• The Comedy Cellar: MacDougal Street comedy venue with food and drink service; comparable as a Greenwich Village performance-adjacent venue that monetizes live nightly shows alongside casual food and beverage.

Broad incumbents

• Blue Note Jazz Club: Premier NYC jazz club with full dinner service; comparable as a larger, established NYC venue combining full-service dining with nightly ticketed live performance programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/corneliastreetcafe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cornelia-street-cafe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cornelia Street Cafe