New York City’s newest trend is … Ithaca?! You heard me correctly. NYC, the pinnacle of high fashion and high art and hot nightlife under the High Line has now turned to Ithaca for high doses of caffeine.

My sources (dailycandy.com) tell me that Gimme! Coffee, Ithaca’s beloved espresso bar, is taking the City by storm. About five years ago, Gimme! launched an Ithaca-style espresso bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The branch has since been wildly successful, drawing rave reviews from The New York Times, Food & Wine, New York Magazine and various Cornell alumni. Just three days ago, another Gimme! opened its doors, this time brewing its famous blends for the Nolita neighborhood of Manhattan (Nolita is a rough amalgam of North of Little Italy).

Gimme!’s new Manhattan location is cozy. Aside from the two coffee bars to lean against, it features standing room only. The walls are red and white, and prominently display local art and photographs of Gimme!’s coffee bean farmers. Even though this location is not on State Street or Cayuga Street, like the first two stores, the new Mott Street, Manhattan location retains much of its Ithaca flavor.

Open since 2000, Gimme! is Ithaca’s most recent, but by no means its only, breakout success. The coffee shop draws a lot of apt comparisons to Moosewood, another Ithaca institution and the catalyst to America’s gourmet vegetarian revolution. Both are Ithaca-based, yet both have been nationally successful. I don’t think it’s an accident that these culinary mainstays began here. Moosewood, and more importantly Gimme!, has applied a business model that manifests Ithaca’ s greatest assets: a mom-and-pop mentality and Ithacans themselves. Mike White, who has “been with Gimme! since the beginning,” and is currently the manager of the Nolita location, stressed the company’s grassroots focus during a recent phone conversation. He proudly reported that Gimme! has used limited bank financing, waiting to expand until the existing stores could support another location. White described the company as a “very close family,” and the company’s internal cohesion is definitely Gimme!’s strong suit. White was raised here in Ithaca, but “with deep roots in New York” moved down to the City to open Gimme!’s first New York City store.

Not only is Gimme! creating jobs and economic stimulation in Ithaca, Trumansburg and Lansing, but in NYC as well. Most other multi-store companies would exhibit behavior of a chain, hiring locals that may not appreciate its original mission and goals. Gimme!, though, maintains its connection with Ithaca by transplanting Ithacans to the store and by hosting the Northeast Regional Barista Competition for two years in a row at the State Theatre (this year from April 10-12).

While Mike and I might love Ithaca, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Gimme! has remained true to its roots and that Ithacan ideals translate into commercial success. Was Moosewood wildly successful and is Gimme! enjoying its 15 minutes of fame because American consumers want a mean recipe for vegetarian lasagna or have a craving for air-roasted espresso? Possibly. But I think there’s more to it. Consumers enjoy the aspects of these companies that are quintessentially Ithacan. Every review I read has praised Gimme! for its excellent personal service and well-trained baristas. Even big city folk are enjoying the local down-home attitude that permeates throughout the store.

A recent alum, Adam Enbar ’04, who lives in Nolita, visited Gimme! yesterday to find other Cornell alumni including David Gross ’06 all excited that the store had reached them in their new New York base. Even though the newest Gimme! location only opened in the past few days, Gross described it as a “small space packed with a punch and packed with people” but was upset that they do not accept Ithaca Hours.

White told me that Cornellians have also been coming to the Brooklyn store in significant numbers. He even expressed especial admiration for the architects who have remembered how Gimme! got them through studio. A few even helped with the design of the Brooklyn store.

The popularity of Gimme! among Cornellians, I think, is rooted in our demand for sustainable high-quality goods that don’t rub their social consciousness in our faces and have a good sense of humor (see their blend names). And clearly we are not the only ones interested in Gimme!’s sophisticated package. It seems like we are currently in the midst of a consumer paradigm shift. Consumers are more educated, demanding higher quality products that are also socially responsible. Welcome to the burgeoning fair trade industry for coffee, cocoa, sugar, wine and other imported foodstuffs. However everyone from pundits to AEM professors is concerned with how fickle this trend is, especially in light of the economy’s position. Gimme!, while highly invested with their supply chain, traveling to meet the farmers who grow their beans, has a product to back its mission. Providing a premium product is the only way to make a socially driven mission sustainable. Gimme! has been wise in its decision. Keeping its espresso gourmet has allowed it to penetrate neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Nolita which are trendy, expensive and Starbucks-averse. White concurred that the company chose location over space.

I am not at all surprised by the attention Gimme!’s new storefront has gotten in NYC and the success its Brooklyn locale has achieved. After all, I had completely stopped drinking coffee by senior of high school (with good reason, just ask anybody who knew me), yet I still enjoy visiting Gimme! here in Ithaca and cannot wait to check out the Nolita store next time I’m in the City. There is something appealing about the store’s friendly and informative baristas, social mission and laid-back, grassroots vibe. Perhaps it is this Ithacan mystique that draws Park Avenue moms and Park Slope hipsters alike to our favorite local espresso bar.