With news of the demolition of 80-86 West Broadway, on the corner of Warren, a few folks emailed and commented, worried about the future of Ahmed Elsabajh’s coffee cart.

He will stay where he is while the first layer of demolition takes place. Currently the construction fence is flat against the building’s lot line. When the fence moves out to take over the entire sidewalk, the city has promised him one of two options: immediately across from 90 West Broadway, near the subway entrance, or in front of Della’s, on the southwest corner with Warren.

Ahmed does have a devoted following — while we chatted over the course of about 4 minutes, he had three orders ready in advance, just as the customer stepped up to the window. (Does he see them coming as they round the corner at Chambers? Or are their schedules that predictable?)

He’s been on that corner for nine years, arriving at 2:30a to catch a delivery. He works with four vendors for his baked goods, and three of them deliver to his garage in Queens, but one comes straight to West Broadway. He then spends the early morning hours prepping the cart and getting ready for his first customers, who start coming around 5a. He leaves by noonish. Back in August of 2021, he expanded to Saturdays to make up for the lost business during covid.

When I talked to him formally in 2022, I asked him how business was and he shrugged: “I’m ok,” he said. “I’m not hungry for money, I just want to care for my family, and thank God, everything is ok.”