Missing the vintage neon coffee sign in Union Square that’s been transformed into a bank logo
It’s been seven years since the closure of Coffee Shop, a pioneering cafe on the west side of Union Square that since 1990 emanated coolness—especially with its vertical neon “Coffee Shop” sign.
A few years later, what moved into the space of this former model and celeb hangout? A Chase bank branch—which then put up its own vertical illuminated sign exactly where the Coffee Shop sign hung at the corner of the building at West 16th Street.
The strangely similar Chase sign, which added “Joe” at the end, a reference to Joe coffee next door, isn’t exactly new. But for those of us who don’t get to Union Square often, it’s always something of a surprise.
But here’s the weird twist: When Coffee Shop opened 25 years ago, it took over the space from a previous coffee shop called Chase, according to a 2018 eulogy by Robert Sietsema in Eater.
“Coffee Shop replaced an actual coffee shop called Chase but retained the coffee shop’s old neon sign that climbed the corner of the building, which said Coffee Shop in a gigantic font,” wrote Sietsema.
“In fact, it was probably one of the first places to ‘steal’ the identity of a previous establishment, imbuing the neon sign with a certain irony.”
From Chase to Coffee Shop and back to Chase again. Perhaps when the bank branch closes, another Coffee Shop can come in and continue the cycle?
[Top image: Alamy; third image: Yelp]
