Mud Coffee

Mud Coffee is a New York City-based coffee company that started by selling its own blend out of a converted Consolidated Edison step-van known as the Mudtruck. On weekdays, it frequents the intersection of Astor Place, Lafayette Street, Fourth Avenue, and Cooper Square in the East Village of Manhattan. It is an "anti-establishment" coffee company and can be described as a shot across the bow to Starbucks, a store containing which is 500 feet (150 m) from the Mud Coffee stand. The company, started in 2001 by husband and wife team Greg Northrop and Nina Barott, is known for their coffee as well as their locally oriented approach to business. This grassroots approach to conducting sustainable business while remaining faithful to the eclectic nature of the neighborhood has earned Mud the title of official coffee of famous satirical newspaper The Onion and the endorsement of cultural jammer leader Reverend Billy, in addition to popularity within the neighborhood. According to Barott, a former advertising professional, and Northrop, a rock musician, the company name was chosen because Greg's Italian grandmother called her coffee mud. In addition to operating the original Astor Place truck, they also have another truck parked at Sheridan Square in the West Village, a cafe called Mudspot at East 9th Street and Second Avenue, and a coffee and espresso bar located inside the flagship store of bath/body company Kiehl's.