Opening today on Greenwich and Beach comes Kaffe Åre, the latest venture from the couple behind Kaffe Landskap, Battery Park City residents Tomas and Chie Tjarnberg. This is 397 Greenwich — the former ‘Wichcraft space, which closed during the pandemic. More soon when their menu is up; they are launching gradually over the next couple weeks.

The name — pronounced Ka-fay Oar-ra — is now an official entry in the Tribeca Pronunciation Guide. (The A with a ring on top is an extra letter in the alphabet in Scandinavian countries.) Tjarnberg grew up in the subarctic mountain town of Åre — home of the biggest ski resort in norther Europe. “We basically up in nature, with simple healthy food — all the things we believe in at Kaffe,” he said.

The space is spare and beautiful, with the trademark wooden cube stools and tiled floors. The store will serve its same coffee beans, roasted in Red Hook as they have for the past eight years, and will have its same machines. All the pastries are made from scratch at 275 Greenwich, and this location will have made-to-order salads and sandwiches. “But we are going to ease into it,” said Tjarnberg.

Chie Tjarnberg designs the menus and works full-time for the business; Tomas still keeps his day job. And in this new location, they are partnering with their Swedish nephew — Tomas’ sister’s son — who will be running the store day to day.

“It’s going to be a really nice gathering place that I think people will really enjoy,” Tjarnberg said. “This is my home — and I am really excited.”

Tjarnberg founded the original Kaffe location across from Whole Foods, known then as Kaffe 1668, in 2009, and opened the second across from Citi in 2012 with his brother. (At one point in 2010 there was also Winne 1668, a wine bar feature to the downtown Kaffe.)

In 2019, he opened two more Kaffe Landskaps in Denver. Sadly he and his Denver partner, Benjamin Dell, have been embroiled in a lawsuit over the brand and the Denver stores since August. It’s a classic he-said/he-said so I am loathe to dig into it, but the records are public if you have the appetite. For the record, in Tribeca, Tjarnberg still owns the Kaffe at Greenwich and Warren outright, which he will rebrand as Kaffe Åre eventually, and Dell owns the Kaffe Landskap at 401 Greenwich.

For sure it’s complicated: all four Landskap locations are still on the website.