Find Pick-Me-Ups and Forget-Me-Nots at Remi Flower & Coffee
August 5, 2025
When Remi Flower & Coffee launched its first location in Midtown five years ago, flower-coffeeshop combos were having a moment in Korea, but weren’t yet widely popular in the U.S. Since then, New Yorkers’ appetites for blooms and blends have grown, and Remi has expanded to three locations in the city, its Lower Manhattan outpost at 130 William St. included. Remi’s downtown spot has all the makings of a top tier remote work destination: plenty of seating, fresh air, good coffee and pastries plus great WiFi. Thanks to its location on the ground level of a Sir David Adjaye–designed residential building, the beauty of Remi is that its customers can relax while drinking a lavender latte in the stately courtyard (which doubles as a public pocket park) or snack on a sweet treat inside the bright, airy 2,100-square-foot indoor space.
Chelsea Kang, one of four florists who works at this location, says she didn’t initially expect so much foot traffic.
“We get a lot of locals, people who live in this building, people who work nearby and then other residents in the area,” Kang said. “We’ve definitely seen a lot of regulars come by.”
Kang, who studied landscape architecture in school, always gravitated towards the hands-on aspects of her classes.
“In a way, flowers are the end product of landscape,” she said. “When I start off at the base, it’s very much like architecture or sculpture,” Kang said. Then, she makes sure the colors blend nicely, but placement is important, too. “I like to let them breathe a little bit,” she said. Another key to a great floral arrangement is keeping it dynamic and full of movement. She says you have to “let them speak on their own.”
Remi’s team of florists started out mainly creating one-off bouquets and centerpieces, but have since expanded to include weekly subscription arrangements for nearby hotels, residential lobbies and office buildings as well as events like small scale weddings and larger floral installations (like the one Remi designed for the WITS 2025 conference earlier this year). Kang says Remi customers also frequently include couples stopping by for bouquets on their way to nearby City Hall weddings.
The process of finding the perfect, personalized bunch is easy. To get started, she’ll ask what kind of flowers you’re looking for. And if you don’t know where to start? Kang’s here to help. She’ll follow up with questions about the occasion, who it’s for, what kind of colors you want, and says to trust her from there. “Just a few keywords are more than enough for me,” she said.
The flower shop’s busy seasons are, of course, your classic Hallmark holidays like Valentines Day and Mother’s Day. But Remi also offers some unique everyday gifts, including the “Buddy Bud Vase,” which includes a small drink along with a petite glass bud vase and flowers, available in store and through DoorDash (Kang says customers often pick this one up on their way to work for coworkers’ birthdays). Remi also delivers flowers within Manhattan; you can make an order in store, on the website or by phone. Also popular among customers are dried, preserved bouquets from the leftover stems that don’t sell.
“We dry them and arrange them ourselves,” she says, “there’s little to no waste.”
Kang loves that her days at Remi aren’t spent working on hypothetical designs, or projects with years-long lead times. “I can just make [an arrangement] on the spot…and it makes people happy,” she said.
Stop by Remi Flower & Coffee seven days a week for a shot of happiness (single or double) via your caffeine fix and floral creations. The café is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., while the florist counter is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
main photo: Matt Ritchie
