A Perfectly Normal Review: Conwell Coffee Hall (Wall Street, NYC)
It’s easy to walk by 6 Hanover Street. Located mere blocks from Wall Street’s iconic Charging Bull statue, the historic building somehow manages to look daunting and nondescript at the same time. The only sign that this isn’t one of hundreds of financial buildings littering the neighborhood is a flag flying above the entrance, advertising the building’s wares: Conwell Coffee: The Taste of Success.
Conwell Coffee Hall is Wall Street’s newest shrine to the almighty coffee bean, brewing up piping cups of joe to see even the most sleep deprived management consultants and financial analysts through their busy days of spreadsheets, PowerPoints, and power lunches.
The Experience at Conwell
Walking into the coffee hall feels like stepping into the past. It’s been over a century since 6 Hanover Street opened its doors as home to the Life and Trust Bank, and Conwell preserved that aesthetic when it retrofitted the bank lobby into a coffee shop. Instead of requesting withdrawals at the teller windows, customers place their orders while taking in the intricate mural, Destiny, the Great Caretaker.
While bank patrons would have previously gone to this table to fill out their withdrawal or deposit slips, it now serves as a place to look over the hall’s menu of food and drink, sign the venue’s guestbook, or flip through guest satisfaction surveys or pamphlets for local events.
Even Conwell Coffee Hall’s seating arrangements embrace the rich aesthetic, presenting a quiet opulence that called to mind reading tables at a private library.
While I didn’t try any of the food during my initial visit to Conwell Coffee, the cup of coffee I ordered proved they can brew up a fine cup, at surprisingly reasonable prices for the area, with proprietary blends exclusive to Conwell.
Masterful Preservation of a Historic Site
It’s heartening to see Conwell Coffee Hall take the building’s historic roots so seriously. A plaque at the hall’s entrance (featuring text also prominently displayed on the company website) pays homage to bank chairman J.G. Conwell, whose passion for “a stiff drink…caffeinated or otherwise” inspired the Conwell Foundation’s decision to give modern New Yorkers a chance to steal a sinfully satisfying “taste of success” for themselves.
The devil is truly in the details at Conwell Coffee Hall, as motifs from the bank’s expansive mural can be found echoed throughout the metalwork and design throughout the building. I expect only great things from what is sure to become a new favorite haunt for the community.
While Conwell Coffee itself is still a relatively new addition to the city, it’s sure to be a local gem. So stop on by if you find yourself in the Financial District. And if you don’t happen to be in the area? Well, you can always sign up for updates on their website, or give them a follow on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
I know this isn’t the typical content for this blog, but thanks for giving this Perfectly Normal Review a chance anyway. I’m just really excited that such an iconic cafe has entered the NYC…coffee scene.
