You have to arrive early most days to get a seat at Ginjan Cafe, but lately the African juice and coffee shop on 125th Street in Harlem has been packed with boxes instead of people because the business was temporarily closed due to city fines dating back to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The permit is less than $300, so that’s not the issue. We had about $12,000 worth of fines,” said Mohammed Diallo, who owns the shop alongside his brother Rahim. “The business has been going steadily for years, and for the first time since we launched, we’re actually almost at break even … So, it’s just very heartbreaking.”
The duo have been documenting their journey to reopen Ginjan on social media, a process Diallo describes as “when it rains, it pours.” Around the same time Ginjan closed its Harlem doors, the brothers had to shut down their Brooklyn location as well for renovation after a car crashed into its Bed-Stuy shop in mid-July…