Elite Event: Ground Central

what’s brewing around Grand Central??? an oasis of coffee – and much more – called Ground Central (GC)!
the team at GC elevates the game of coffee, tea, light bites, and substantial bites by focusing on the simplicity of delivering a great experience by avoiding the complexity and clutter of trying to be everything to everyone. what a great event that shows you don’t need copious amounts of gourmet food or a river of booze to throw a memorable event.
for me, GC delivered sweet nostalgia of delicious hot chocolate on chilly nights and s’mores by the campfire – two things i remember fondly as a kid. Desiree (general manager of GC) and her team set up a make-​your-​own S’MORES BAR with a sterno flame (danger), marshmallow on a stick, and heaps of broken-​up graham crackers, & chocolate. simply presented on a shrouded high table. they also set up a Hot Chocolate bar where you could deck out a delicious hot cocoa (made with milk! not water. thank God lol) with pillowy mini marshmallows, layers of spray whipped cream, little m&ms, peanut butter cups, kit kats (and ton of other chocolate) and chips of candy cane… the only limits was your imagination and tolerance for a sugar high!
often times places try to do too much to make an experience memorable, but GC stuck with a simple concept for the night and executed it flawlessly. less truly is more. the s’mores, hot chocolate, and the resultant sugar high made for lots of conversations and meeting you new Elites as well as catching up with others. a lot of the credit goes to GC and its team for orchestrating a lot of the aforementioned without forcing it… i mean this could of just been a coffee event (which would of been fine. not knocking that.) however Desiree and her team really committed to doing something different for us and the magic was there. it was fun, familiar, nostalgic, and geniusly creative.
the cool casual vibe of the GC is enclosed in a small narrowed space w/​seating flush on either side of coffee shop towards the front. the décor has a relaxed modern-​whimsical touch – vinyl album covers racked next to a bookcase of classic and contemporary reads. further in, on the left – there’s a fantasy island of coffee and tea accoutrements like sugar, milk, lids, stirrers etc. all in little pails. there’s even a water dispenser (free water! yasss. just say no to plastic bottles). bonus points for the area being well-​organized and not cramped like other java retailers (i’m staring at you Starbucks!). there’s stenciled street art that wraps around the coffee shop also… completing the relaxed aesthetic. the place is perfect for your morning, afternoon, or evening pick-​me up… or coffee with a friend or just to clear your mind and relax with some tea. there’s free wifi, too!
the team at Ground Central was superfriendly, so welcoming, and treated us awesomely. Desiree went above and beyond to make a chilly night in January warm, toasty, and enjoyable. the infectious friendliness of the staff was refreshing and admirable. on top of all the sugar, GC allowed us to raid their sandwiches and pastries to take home. my cheese sandwich on a baguette was delicious! kudos to Desiree and her co-​workers for making my trek to midtown well worth it and now i have a new coffee stop. hurrah!
probably the most (funny and horrifying part of the evening) was when Kathy «The Pyro» X. toasted a marshmallow on the sterno which caught on fire. instead of blowing it out, she stared at it and started waving it around to put it out… which everyone dived out of the way to avoid being burned by marshmallow napalm. the flaming marshmallow fell on the floor. thankfully the flame was put out and didn’t burn down the coffee shop with all of us in it. lol. and no one was injured ‘cept Kathy, who might have won a Darwin Award had anyone else been injured. lol. all jokes. though a scary moment. if you see anyone at a Unilocal event fascinated by fire, run!
A HUGE THANK YOU to Ruggy for making this happen. fun, sugar, and conversation. he and the team at Ground Central definitely transformed a sleepy cold January evening into a memorable experience! well played.
drops mic because it’s too cold to hold in January…
i out.
zzz

My first Manhattan Elite event! So, we were told that this event would be strictly DIY hot chocolate with no food or alcohol but GUESS WHAT?! There was food and I prefer no alcohol because I don’t drink and I love events that actually have nonalcoholic beverages… In this case, deliciously rich and creamy hot chocolate. So perfect for a cold winter night! And Ground Central was such a cute, charming coffee shop with cool copper walls and a nice warm atmosphere.
We were greeted warmly by Katey and Ruggy, then upon entering I saw the S’mores bar set up near the hot chocolate. I was definitely excited by that because S’mores are one of my absolute favorite desserts! There were large marshmallows on skewers which we could roast on the little fire in the sterno cup… In my case, I lit the marshmallows on fire because who doesn’t love the taste of campfire burnt gooey sweet marshmallow? I later realized this, coupled with my fascination with fire was kind of dangerous… I’ll just leave it at that.
Anyway, I then set about making an incredibly delectable and intensely sweet cup of hot chocolate, complete with Snickers, Reeses peanut butter cups, Kit kat, caramel syrup and marshmallows of course. I thoroughly enjoyed the taste of the hot chocolate. It was very chocolate-​y, smooth and tasty. And we could make as many cups as we wanted!
I had a great time at this intimate affair… Lovely Unilocal Elites, wonderful staff– Desiree especially was extremely personable and welcoming. She even let us pick some food to take home: I took a chicken sandwich, pumpkin muffin, yogurt parfait and ham & cheese croissant. Yumm! I definitely appreciated Ground Central’s generosity.
Thank you Ruggy for setting this up! Loved meeting you and actually getting to talk with you, Ruggy and great to see you again, Katey! Hope to make it to another event soon.

my first Unilocal elite event. Thank you to Ruggy, Katey, and Desiree for setting this awesome event up! it was such a cute diy hot chocolate event. this place is cute and cozy to have to catch up session with friends over a couple cups of hot chocolate or coffee. i also had a wonderful time meeting the other elites.

Great event!
I really enjoy attending an occasional non-​food, non-​alcoholic event. I was extra interested in this one because I work two blocks away and hoped I could add this place to my go-​to coffee spots — being that it’s not one of the multitude of Starbux and DDs in the area. I was happy to get the email add me to the «in» list, but worried when I saw that it was really a «hot chocolate”-focused event, as I am (ahem) a bit lactose-​intolerant.
I arrived and asked (hoped) that they had a lactose-​alternative hot chocolate. And they DID! They offered almond-​based OR soy-​based milk alternative to the hot chocolate. I chose almond-​based milk and it was very good. In the past, I’ve had lactose-​alternative hot chocolates and they usually disappoint — but this place made a great alternative!
They have some yummy looking greek yogurts in the fridge area.
Our hosts were super nice and chatty. And so gracious — not just because they happily obliged my non-​lactose request — because they offered us any choice of perishable items to take home that night. I took home two different croissants — and both were really good.
Overall — not just a great event, but an excellent coffeeshop in midtown east! I’ll be back!

Here we are again after a long day of work, and Ruggy’s got you covered!
A nice little Unilocal gathering right near Grand Central.
Aptly named Ground Central, they offer not just coffee & pastries, but sweets like hot chocolate & smores!
As I ambled up to the bar to order, I asked if there was some way to go milk-​free? And yes they had Almond & Soy. How nice.
The hot cocoa was surely a sweet delicious treat. As we formed a little Elite pow-​wow, we introduced ourselves, traded war stories of reviews, talked about Unilocal Talk threads, and all that good stuff. :)
Thanks again for a mid-​week break. It was much needed.

What a perfect way to spend a winter’s eve. Desiree and the Ground Central team could not have been more welcoming, and they created such a festive evening for everyone. The hot cocoa was creamy, rich, and simply divine. Not to mention the fact that we had basically every topping and mix-​in imaginable to liven up our cups. To further add to the sugar rush awesomeness, there was also a DIY s’mores bar on-​hand which provided tremendous amusement for all the Unilocalers in attendance. To top it all off, we even got to raid the pastry counter for goodies to take home (my swiss sandwich to-​go made for a scrumptious day-​after breakfast).
It’s clear Desiree is really passionate about making Ground Central a fun and cozy hangout spot — and that she’s got grand plans for the future. Can’t wait to return!

This was one of that event that the crew was small but was very cozy, this was the perfect way to spend a winter night, where we were drinking hot cocoa while having a lovely conversation with fellow Unilocalers, In addition to the hot cocoa they had a s’mores station, complete with graham crackers, chocolate strips and big marshmallows to roast over a sterno, this was make it yourself event, where we the elite have the option to add anything from the s’mores station.
Any combination that you made that night was going to be perfect, the hot cocoa was creamy, rich, and simply had a wonderful taste.
They also give us some hand food to take home; my chicken sandwich had a good taste.
Thanks Ruggy, Katy and the staff of the Ground Central for this event.

Awesome elite only event. Very intimate and a handful of Unilocalers at this event. Great for mixing and mingling. The owners were great and provided coffee, hot cocoa and smores bar. Hot cocoa was off the hook. Creamy and chocolatey. Smores bar was great for a winters night. We even had some great pastries to go.
Wonderful event. Thanks to the owners, ruggy and katey for setting up a great event.

First Manhattan event of the year: Ground Central, a cozy coffeeshop just steps from Grand Central and the UN, invited us to share with them a DIY Hot Chocolate night. …so what does that mean, you might ask? Well, you aren’t «making» hot chocolate — that comes pre-​prepared. Rather we were given various «toppings» and add-​ins to make a yummy treat! From m&m minis and kitkats to Reese’s and candy canes, and of course mini marshmallows to top it off, it was a sugar maven’s dream. They also had vanilla syrup and peppermint strip to make our hot chocolate extra rich and delicious.
In addition to the DIY hot chocolate, they had a s’mores station, complete with graham crackers, chocolate strips and big marshmallows to roast over a sterno.
The place has a warm ambiance and a full selection of pastries and sandwiches. I’m looking forward to coming back and trying out the rest of their coffee drinks and more. By the way, they roast La Colombe coffee so if you’re looking for your La Colombe fix you’ve got it right here in Midtown East!
This was a fantastic small event — shout out to Ruggy for setting it up and to Desiree and her staff at Ground Central for hosting us and the amazing winter treats!