In May of 2021, the family-run Dunne Polemost Liquors moved to their new location, 591 Manhattan Avenue, after spending thirty-five years 698 Manhattan Ave. It’s since been replaced by a Colombian coffee shop, Pueblo Querido.
This is the third location that Pueblo Querido has opened in North Brooklyn. The first is located on 34 North 6th Street; the second is on 195 Greenpoint Avenue; and now – 698 Manhattan Avenue, which opened on December 18th, 2021.
“Our mission is to bring the best of Colombian culture to NY.”
PQ Website
When you walk into any Pueblo Querido shop, it feels as though you’re being transported to a completely different place – a place that is sunny, warm, and bursting with life. The floors are covered in patterned tiles, and the walls are coated with brightly colored paint, with featured murals, unique textiles, foliage, hats, and other Colombian-inspired decor. It’s obvious how much love has been poured into the physical space, equally true for the love poured into your coffee cup.
“Our goal is to be the best quality roasting company, in terms of freshness and environmental sensitivity that makes people feel unique after every cup, working hard with integrity to make happy our farmers and costumers (sic) everyday.”
PQ Website
Christian Guzman Herrera is the founder and owner of Pueblo Querido. Herrera opened his first location in Greenpoint back in 2016, bringing his knowledge of coffee all the way from Quindío, Colombia – a region famous for its coffee production. He has since been actively working to expand and establish his brand in the North Brooklyn area.
Q&A With Herrera:
Can you tell me a bit more about the mission and inspiration behind PQ?
The origin of the name is something that comes from your heart every day you’re away from your land where you were born, and you miss it immensely – because no matter where in the world you have migrated to, you always will say “How I miss my lovely hometown (PUEBLO QUERIDO).” Our mission is to bring the best of Colombian culture to NY,
What makes Pueblo Querido unique to you?
We are proud of our culture and friendly people. We serve our customers with a smile and a good vibe, so it doesn’t matter that you didn’t have coffee yet, with our service, everything tastes better. Our products are unique because everything is made in-house. We are not just a coffee shop, we are a display of the different cultures in Colombia with our traditional handmade decorations. The new location has been a recent success because of the new Disney movie Encanto, which was inspired in Colombia and was [based] on Quindío where we are from.
Did you expect to own three locations? Do you hope to expand further?
I opened my first shop in Greenpoint in 2016, and it was very hard since I was new to the city and did not know the market. It took me three years to figure out how to run a business but thankfully everything got better day by day.
Now my happiness is to see the people smile and get excited the moment they enter each of my locations because the first thing they see is a colorful decoration full of handmade decoration and tropical music. That is what makes me want to open more locations, although we are facing difficulties day by day with inflation on every product. The shortage of essential products like coffee cups, sleeves, even water bottles, and also hiring people has been very hard. My new location has a full kitchen but I haven’t found workers to open it.
Online Products
To purchase Pueblo Querido products online, visit the website by clicking here.
