Welcome to Writes & Bites — a series where creative writing MFA student Arianna Gundlach reviews a cool writing spot in New York City and tackles a writing topic that’s been weighing on your mind. This week, we look at Capital One Café located at 853 Broadway, overlooking Union Square Park.
Hello, budding readers and writers. I’ve been expecting you.
Hope you haven’t missed me too much, as Writes & Bites has switched from biweekly to monthly this semester (nothing to do with you, dear readers). But I couldn’t stay away from you too long.
Getting back into the semester is tough — always having somewhere to be and something to do. Every minute of your time feels occupied, even on the weekends. Maybe it’s even gotten to the point where you have to “schedule” downtime. This semester is the busiest I’ve ever been at The New School, and I’ve had to prioritize more than ever. But we have to make the most of it — starting with where we’re spending our time.
The New School doesn’t provide the homiest of spaces, and not all of us live close enough where we can walk to a campus building every day. However, despite not having a traditional closed campus experience, perhaps we have something better. Our campus becomes the cafés, bookstores, parks, and public libraries of the city. And having the city as your campus can be exciting if you know where to look.
Peel yourself from your bed, pack a bag of need-to-work necessities, and head toward Union Square Park. On the corner of 14th Street and Broadway, you’ll find the Capital One Café. The café is a few steps from the 14th Street-Union Square subway station and next door to Max Brenner, the chocolate restaurant. A prime spot if you ask me.
Now, do not be dissuaded by the word “bank.” Unlike the sterile Citibank across the street, Capital One is more than an ATM vestibule. (That said, you do have to walk through a vestibule to get to the café).
You don’t need to be a Capital One customer to enjoy this space or purchase café offerings. However, you do get 50% off drinks if you use a physical Capital One card to pay, and Capital One customers have access to reservable meeting rooms. Brand ambassadors stand watch, but they’re not trying to sell you on the bank — they only provide information if approached.
After passing through the second pair of glass doors, you’ll be greeted by the clean, contemporary café with a cozy touch. The whole space is doused in a wash of natural light from the large windows, and it smells fresh, so you know it’s well-maintained.
Directly in front of you is the main seating across from the long counter where you’ll order. There are three sizable tables and plenty of window seating for your people-watching pleasure.
If you go right, you’ll find the comfy living room area with brown couches lining the wall, complete with throw pillows, white stands for your laptops, and built-in outlets. I highly appreciate a plugged-in space, but Capital One goes above and beyond with all-inclusive outlets, including three-prong, USB-A, and USB-C.
The living room section feels more like a home — or at least a really nice furniture store — with its contemporary art, picture frames, leafy potted plants, and knickknacks filling the shelves. With this part of the café, Capital One offers a lived-in environment, which feels akin to your room but doesn’t come with the bed rotting or the doomscrolling.
While I love the aesthetic of the furniture, the brown couches just aren’t cushiony enough. Their firmness made my butt go numb after mere thirty minutes. But this may not be everyone’s experience, and I just may need to start incorporating glutes more regularly into my workout routine. So, take that complaint with a grain of salt.
Also, the couches are almost too spacious, especially for petite people; you have to scooch pretty far in to feel your back touch. Again, possibly a short person problem.
Moving further into the space, on the right side of the staircase that leads to the real bank facilities, there are three long booths, two tables, and high counter seating with red cushioned stools. And in the far-right corner, sandwiched between pillars is an all-navy nook with couches, tables, and chairs.
In this corner, you can also partake in some Capital One branded checkers, connect four, or tic-tac-toe. There’s a water tap offering cold and hot water: a good spot to refill your reusable water bottle. And the end of the barista counter is where you can pick up your drinks.
The menu offers caffeinated staples as well as flavored lattes (caramel, honey lavender, turmeric ginger), seasonal beverages (pumpkin pie latte), on-tap coffee courtesy of Verve, tea, hot chocolate, and hot apple cider. Food ranges from the assortment of “bakery bites” to savory “all-day favorites” (sandwiches, avocado toast, yogurt power bowl, ham & Swiss cheese croissant).
To drink, I recommend the caramel latte. It’s buttery, sweet, and smooth with the right amount of bitterness, and it actually tastes like caramel! I love a latte that lives up to its flavoring. Most drinks come in 8 oz, 12 oz, and 16 oz and are customizable with added flavors and shots.
For food, I recommend the cinnamon roll from their case of baked goods. I’ve also tried the chocolate muffin, but it tasted like there was three times the amount of normal cocoa powder in the mix — an ultimately synthetic flavor.
With all the amenities at Capital One, you have no excuse not to be writing. An age-old excuse for writers, who want to be writing but aren’t, is that they don’t “have the time.” We’ll, if you’re a writer, that’s up to you to change. While it is about finding the time, it’s also about making it.
As I said at the very beginning, it’s all about priorities. This semester, I have a full course load, hold two editor positions at NSFP, act as a teaching fellow at a high school, and serve as a teaching assistant for a Parsons course. At times, it can be easy to forget that I’m here at The New School to write.
Coming to grad school meant writing my book had to switch from a hobby to my life’s mission. If you’re serious about writing, you’ll need to consider the same. Otherwise, that novel or anthology of short stories or collection of poems or essays will remain in the abstract forever. Something you “do” but never get done. You can’t get published if you don’t write to completion and then of course, revise.
We can all dream, but not all of us actually produce and achieve. What’s the difference? Making writing your priority and holding yourself accountable to it.
To make writing your priority, maybe you drop an elective course or frame your class schedule around when you tend to write. However, I know you’re also completing a degree, so if you can’t rearrange your classes, then you need to maximize your time in between. Always keep your WIP in the forefront of your mind. When your characters roam around in your brain, they tend to produce something of substance. And when they do, have your phone handy to copy down lines in your notes app or dictate using the audio function.
While I’m not encouraging spacing out in class, if you’ve said all you’re going to say and the class is rather lagging, find a way to contribute to your WIP in one way or another. Before class, I tend to copy down the last paragraph of my novel into a notebook and then build on that in between class participation.
Set a goal for the semester. Maybe you want to write x amount of pages or chapters. Maybe you want to outline your entire WIP or flesh out the world where you have lists, maps, and pages and pages of lore. For me, I want to finish the first full draft of my novel.
Next, make a schedule that makes this goal achievable, and hold yourself accountable to it.
This means deciding how much progress you’re going to make per day/week, but also how you’re divvying up the workload. For example, I’m writing two chapters a week, which means I start on Sunday by mapping out my chapters (rough outline, so I can fill in later), Monday to Wednesday, I write four pages each day for the first chapter, and Thursday to Saturday I write four pages each day for the second chapter. The specificity ensures accountability — you always know what you should be writing.
So when you find yourself at Capital One Café, remind yourself that this is your time to write and make the most of it. While the space is an outlet paradise, try unplugging and writing by hand. There’s something more organic about just writing with pen and paper. Check your specific goal for the day and keep writing toward it. Press on, dear writers. And keep making the time.
Capital One Café
853 Broadway
(646) 927-3226
https://www.capitalone.com/local/union-square
| Commute 5-minute walk from the UC. | Hours Mon-Fri: 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat-Sun: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. |
| Tech Outlet haven (three-prong, USB-C, USB-A). Public Wi-Fi available. Tappable pay accepted. | Layout Front: Main seating and counter where you order. Close-right: Living room section, high counter seating, and long booths. Far-right: All-navy seating nook, games, water tap, and bathroom. |
| Gems Expansive seating; well-kept space; respectable selection of food and drink; professional vibe; prime location. | Noise Level Conversational. |
| Atmosphere Minimalist, contemporary, and cozy. | Be Aware 50% off drinks if you pay with a physical Capital One card. Brand ambassadors and security linger in the space. Ask for bathroom code. |
| Rating 3/4 Stars – based on The New York Times star system: “ratings range from zero to four stars. Zero is poor, fair or satisfactory. One star, good. Two stars, very good. Three stars, excellent. Four stars, extraordinary.” |