Lucienne's ongoing mission is to define and build the "American Kissaten." By combining the Japanese Kissaten and the American coffee shop, we hope to create something new.

The "American" part of this is important, as we do not think it is possible to reproduce foreign phenomenon (i.e., the kissaten, which are a byproduct of unique cultural and socioeconomic conditions at a very specific time and place) domestically without warping it into something that misses the mark entirely. In other words, context is key. Critically, it also has nothing to do with concepts of American patriotism.

Many Americans visit Japan and wish they had kissaten at home. "Why don't we have this in America?" they ask themselves. Some even go on to try and copy/reproduce these businesses in America (and New York City). However, the context of New York City (and our country) distort the end vision greatly.

At best, we get a "themed" café; the veneer of the kissaten pasted over an otherwise normal café; the surface level aesthetic of the kissaten. It's hollow and devoid of anything you might call "authentic" which in itself is a completely subjective term.

At worst, you end up with a grotesque caricature; one that appropriates and fails to respect the aesthetic and the cultural context. It may come off as contrived and offensive.

Neither outcome is very satisfying.

Instead, Lucienne wishes to lean into the distortion. We think that the American lens has an incredibly unique quality, and that it can render something far more satisfying and beautiful if we stop trying to force a vibe that simply isn't there. By embracing this, we believe the American Kissaten will come naturally.

No, I don’t know exactly what this means yet. It’s an ever evolving, abstract concept. But lately, I’m thinking the defining characteristic of the “American” kissaten, (just as with the Japanese kissaten) is that it’s an unforgiving reflection of it’s owner, and to a lesser extent it’s customers. It’s not some vague aesthetic sensibility or contents on a menu. (Well, it should at least have coffee.)

Just maybe, it might not even need to exist physically…just as Lucienne is primarily online, and the forces of the market move everything onto the internet. We will see!

The internet in the 2020s is frankly…depressing. What used to be a fun, challenging, informative, and social space with seemingly no borders has largely devolved into a hollow, manipulative dopamine machine trying to extract money from you.

Of course there are still pockets of genuine humanity sprinkled throughout, but they are few and far between; isolated islands in a sea of overwhelming greed and phony emotion. Tireless algorithms work to polarize your worldview, and get better at it with every single tap on your phone. They work so hard to scare you from the open water, keeping you stranded on some shitty app for as long as they can, drip feeding a nutrient paste of garbage “““content””” you already agree with.

Fuck all that.

I don’t mean to sound so fatal, but it’s a real war that you’re part of whether you like it or not.

• Lucienne is comprised of real, living, breathing, humans with all the same needs, bills, and existential dread as you, and our internet presence must strongly reflect that. Lucienne will always be transparent and “real” when it comes to any and all electronic communication. We want you to know that these photons hitting your eyes are the result of a real person creating them.

• There is no fucking AI on this website, and there never will be.

• If you still aren’t convinced that I’m not a robot, feel free to meet me in person at the many pop-ups we do and chat with me! (I might be super busy, but I will try.) Alternatively, say hello to any of our other customers. Have a chat, find community! It’s important. It’s okay if you’re awkward.
  Do you live too far away? That’s fine! you can email me, or find me on discord! You can even join my bongo cat lobby.

If you have somehow against all odds found our website, thanks. I hope you stay a while, and I hope you come back.

If you’re still here reading, here’s a few super easy, 1 minute things to make your internet experience more meaningful:
(I’m not paid for any of this, I just think these are baseline necessities in the year 2026.)

• Consider switching browsers. I suggest Firefox.

• Try uBlock Origin to kill the majority of ad noise.

• Stop companies from spying on your browsing with Privacy Badger.

• Consider switching your default search engine to Ecosia, or DuckDuckGo. Changing search engines will radically change what bits of the internet you interact with. It’s like peering over a forbidden fence, or being thrown into an unfamiliar pool of water. Or just switching phone books.

• Use a password manager like bitwarden for goodness’ sake. (and make your passwords stronger!)

• Download Steam and play video games with me, the head possum! It is truly a larger, more open, more fun internet when you play video games; even casual ones you play by yourself on a laptop. It will connect you to so many new people online (and offline!) in ways you’ll never expect.

We strongly believe that should you choose to give us your hard earned dollars, it is is our responsibility to make your day measurably better.* To that end, we believe everything is important when it comes to creating uplifting experiences for the people we serve. From the way we say hello, to the coffees on the menu, to the vessel we serve your drink in, to the flavor of Airhead I put in your box; it must all be carefully considered.

We believe in reflexively excellent hospitality, and that reflex is honed through mindfulness, empathy, practice, and the continuous improvement of our craft.

There is no point to existing if we offer a merely “whelming” experience. While plenty of coffee companies/shops can produce great coffee (especially in Brooklyn), it is rare for a coffee business to produce a great experience. We can do better, even if that transaction/interaction occurs purely asynchronously online.

*"10% better than real life."

If we were concerned with what most people like, we'd just serve syrup based drinks, but that's boring.

We want to do things our way. We are not bound by convention or industry “best practice” or whatever brewing method has the most likes that week. Lucienne just wants to make what it likes, put it out in the world, and see if other people like it too. Maybe that will result in something new and novel, or maybe it’ll just be a disaster.

Lucienne is a space where everyone feels welcome, safe, seen, and heard. We want to create a safe harbor for all kinds of people in the community, whether you need to work on a spreadsheet, get away from your crap roommates and cry, or otherwise feel uncomfortable or disenfranchised in other spaces and simply want a space to safely occupy and communicate freely.

Lucienne is explicitly non-discriminatory; an island that welcomes all. The café used to be a space where all sorts of people would gather and civilly* exchange ideas, even if they were fundamentally different, opposing, or made you uncomfortable. We believe that this is fundamental for a healthy democracy to function, and want to bring that back. In a city like New York, spaces like this are weirdly rare, and we wish to provide at least one.

To be clear, Lucienne welcomes you no matter your : race, color, creed, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, income, religion, age, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, housing status, citizenship status, political belief, parental status, if you are a recipient of public assistance, your genetic info, height, weight, or veteran status.

*As in, be nice. Do no harm, and do not infringe on any other person's rights.

Lucienne is painfully aware of it's own carbon footprint, as well as the human effects of every business decision we make. We try our best to not be morally bankrupt and hypocritical.

• Even if we are small, we can still choose to be a more ethical, less extractive business. While being “green” is not Lucienne’s core brand or focus, we at a minimum do things like buy organic, use compostable packaging, save energy/water, recycle, and use reusable cups/utensils where possible.

• We compensate people fairly for their time and effort with us, whether they be at a farm, a warehouse, roastery, or café.

• We treat our producers and suppliers as equals. You will not find savior complex language on this website.