Kis (315 Maujer St.) is a newly refreshed café and bookstore at Williamsburg’s Amant, a free contemporary art museum with a 21,000-square-foot, four-building campus. Kis is located at the heart of the museum and is meant to be a quiet retreat.
“The idea has been to draw visitors mid-block to have a cup of coffee or browse our books, which are highly informed by our curatorial and residency programs,” Nick Pilato, the executive director at Amant, told Greenpointers.
The café underwent a simple renovation last month which included lighting and furniture updates “to make it warmer and more inviting” and a space that could be activated more in the evening.
The menu at Kis offers a tight selection of high quality healthy food that is simple, sustainable, direct and unfussy. There’s a sandwich, salad, and pastry that rotates based on what’s fresh from distributors and the farmer’s market with a vegetarian option and something that includes protein.
Pilato told Greenpointers that the bookstore is also “an important part of Kis.” He said that “the books are highly informed by our curatorial initiatives.” It is not a store to buy random fiction, but instead a place to find titles that are correlated to Amant’s mission.
Another new initiative to get visitors through the door is Amant’s recently-launched summer series called Six to Nine, featuring live DJ sets, special snacks, and open exhibitions until 9 p.m. The inaugural Six to Nine event took place on May 9 before Kis was renovated, while the second happened in Kis’ rejuvenated home on June 13.
The May event, which drew over 150 visitors, included a DJ set by Bergonist, a Moroccan-born DJ and artist, while the June event welcomed DJ Yibing and was “an even bigger success” with over 200 guests in attendance.
Chef Ned Baldwin of Manhattan’s Houseman created a series of special hot dogs for Six to Nine. On June 13, he served goat hot dogs with garlic labneh and caramelized onions, plus shrimp and blackfish hot dogs with chili mayo and cilantro lime slaw. There were also other snacks like charred cabbage and hummus with seeded crackers.
“These events were conceptualized as a way to activate and engage a broad audience whose interests meet at the intersection of art, music, and food,” Pilato said.
“While all of Amant’s programs are conceived to engage different communities, the goal with this summer series is to engage the hyper-local community of folks who are interested in electronic music and nightlife that happens in and around East Williamsburg.”
There are two more Six to Nine events planned on July 11 and August 8. “We’re planning another special menu for July 11th; everything will be grilled up on our new Northfork Ironworks grill,” Pilato said.
Kis is open Monday through Wednesday 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Thursday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. – 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.