Commemorating the launch debut of our City Hustle series, I’ve interviewed the co-founders of the Avocaderia, the world’s first avocado bar, which opened in Brooklyn this May. Owners Alberto Gramigni, Alessandro Biggi, and Francesco Brachetti hail from Italy, and were introduced to readily-available avocados when they moved to North America. Loving the fruit so much that they founded the first entirely avocado-based eatery, all in which they’ve decided to open it in New York City.
Avocaderia owners Alberto Gramigni, Alessandro Biggi, and Francesco Brachetti.
In this hustle & grind interview series, we’ll explore how three Italian entrepreneurs have turned a passion into profit, their influences, and what it’s like running a niche business in Brooklyn.
Why did you choose Brooklyn as the location for the Avocaderia?
When we came up with the concept of Avocaderia, we knew that even though people love avocados — it’s a pretty radical idea to build an entire menu around them so when we were scouting locations for our first store, we thought ‘what could be better than Brooklyn?’ It’s where innovators thrive and where new concepts are born every day. It’s full of open-minded, health conscious people and the reception has been unbelievable!
Is it ok to assume that Brooklyn’s your favorite area of New York City?
As expected, we’re partial to Brooklyn — we love Park Slope! It’s far less congested than other parts of NYC and we’re always within walking distance to gorgeous Prospect Park. The neighborhood is peaceful, the people are great, and the food is phenomenal. You can always find us at Bricolage on 5th Avenue, we even celebrated our first week there.
When did you realize the avocado trend had grown enough to open a store dedicated entirely to them?
To us, it never seemed like we were following trend, which we know seems quite ridiculous to say but we swear it’s the truth. Coming from Italy, avocados were quite new to us and when we set foot in the US and Mexico, respectively — we’ve realized that avocados are not only incredibly delicious but they are also unbelievably healthy and versatile.
Living in Mexico, Francesco started to eat avocado nearly every single day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He couldn’t believe that a fast casual eatery dedicated solely to avocado did not exist already so he and the team set out to open one in hopes of bringing avocado to the every day consumer, not just the trendy brunch-chasing crowd.
Have you always loved avocados, or did the trend influence your decision to open the store?
Growing up in Italy, it wasn’t too easy to find avocados every day. Francesco only started eating avocado on a daily basis when he moved to Mexico and Alessandro soon followed suit when he relocated to Seattle temporarily (and had a difficult time finding something healthy to eat aside from the typical salad bar).
Luckily for them, Alberto had already fallen in love with avocado in Mexico over a decade ago so when Alessandro and Francesco approached him to create a menu for Avocaderia, he couldn’t wait to start experimenting with avocado-based dishes. Although the avocado is quite trendy in New York, the co-founders had fallen in love long before (and in faraway lands!).
Describe to us your favorite part of owning a business in New York City.
The people! New York is a melting pot of culture and creativity, and everyone has a story to tell. New Yorkers are passionate, driven, and they are always willing to try something new. We couldn’t have asked for a better audience.
What does the daily hustle at the Avocaderia look like?
We usually get in the door around 7am in order to begin preparations. We wash, clean, and chop all fruits and veggies fresh each morning and we also make our own sauces, spice blends, lemonade, and iced tea so there’s quite a lot of work to be done. Once we open the doors at 9am, there’s usually a breakfast rush for our avocado and egg toast and so the day begins. We keep pretty busy throughout the day until closing time at 4pm. During this time, you can find any one of us making calls, taking meetings, slicing and peeling avocados, and even washing dishes (it’s all hands on deck).
We are also a very young company so we are constantly evolving. This means that at any given moment, you may find us printing and reprinting menus, redesigning the space, watering our live plants, and making sure our signature neon is always looking its finest. We’ve also just started merchandising and are expanding our brand so we spend a good portion of the day developing new items such as our Avocado Body Scrub (made exclusively for us by Brooklyn Botany), our brand new Avocaderia Avo Pins (they’re adorable!), and a few secret products that we hope to announce soon.
The Avocaderia is located at 238 36th Street, Brooklyn, NY.
