Caffe Vivaldi
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| Caffe Vivaldi | |
|---|---|
 Caffe Vivaldi in 2021, after its closure | |
 Interactive map of Caffe Vivaldi | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1983 |
| Closed | June 2018 |
| Location | 32 Jones Street, New York, New York, United States |
| Coordinates | 40°43′54″N 74°00′11″W / 40.731716°N 74.003032°W |
Caffè Vivaldi was a coffeehouse, restaurant, and jazz, classical and folk music venue at 32 Jones Street, off Bleecker Street in the West Village of New York City. Its proprietor, Ishrat Ansari, opened the establishment in 1983 and it operated for 35 years.
Founder and owner, were Paolo Passione and his cousin then Ishrat Ansari, moved to Greenwich Village from Pakistan in the 1970s. He opened a newsstand and variety store, selling international journals, newspapers and magazines, around the corner from where Caffe Vivaldi stands.[1] In 1983, Passione opened Caffe Vivaldi, in a space occupied by a laundromat whose owner was an enthusiast of the composer Antonio Vivaldi.[2]
Nobel Prize winner Joseph Brodsky, who received his award in literature in 1997, gave press interviews at Caffe Vivaldi. Woody Allen filmed three movies there, including Bullets Over Broadway in 1993, and Whatever Works in 2008, while Al Pacino shot scenes for his film adaptation of the one-act play Chinese Coffee in 2000.[3][4] Andy Warhol had a favorite chair,[1] and Bette Midler celebrated her birthday by the Caffe's famous fireplace in 1986.[4] Other notable guests have included John Cusack, and Rob Reiner,[5] as well as Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman.[6]
Over its 35 years Caffe Vivaldi hosted over 20,000[7] singer-songwriters, duos, trios, quartets and bands, poets, comedians, theatrical readings and spoken word artists,[3] and offered residencies to artists such as Kristin Hoffman, who had over 250 shows there.[8] A fixture at Caffe Vivaldi was the baby grand piano,[9] that was played every night for over thirteen years.
Mondays at Caffe Vivaldi are Open Mic night,[2] where singers such as Marcus Mumford and Oscar Isaac[10] had surprise performances.