A Coffee Shop and Cocktail Bar That Embodies Your Cool Friend’s NYC Apartment

As rent prices everywhere seem to soar to new heights, businesses strive to keep up by expanding their offerings. In Flushing, a vibrant multicultural neighbourhood in New York’s Queens borough, a new space transitions between a sleek coffee shop and a vibey cocktail bar thanks to the design know-how of Design Next Agency.

The New York hospitality design-build firm, which specializes in both visual and interior design as well as full-service architecture and construction, recently completed The Duo, a welcoming and contemporary lounge that’s as appealing for a solo worker looking to caffeinate on a Tuesday morning as it is for friends needing a Saturday-night hangout spot. “Our goal was to craft a space that is both adaptable and timeless, driving engagement and growth,” says Tenzin Samphel, co-founder of Design Next Agency. “We are glad we achieved it.”

As guests step inside, they are greeted by a long, glossy-black bar with a base made of opaque blocks where coffee is served. Against the wall behind the counter are floating wood shelves for glasses, coffee, and other items. Two enormous oval lampshades hang overhead.

The first bar gives way to a second, where cocktails are shaken, this time at counters in stainless steel with mirrored sides lined with airy chrome bar stools with caramel-leather seats. A sleek banquette covered in dove grey bouclé alongside gleaming metal tables and modern olive-green chairs with cylindrical backs hugs the opposite wall, illuminated by circular sconces.

In the centre of the café, cozy vignettes featuring low slouchy armchairs and a contemporary leather couch create more casual lounge seating. The relaxed plushness balances the industrial elements: bright white walls, grey flooring, and exposed pipes. Add in a geometric rug, sculptural coffee table, and arc floor lamp, and The Duo feels more like your coolest friend’s chic city flat than a coffee shop or bar.

The 1,070-square-foot café feels all the more spacious thanks to soaring 30-foot ceilings, whose styling ended up being a welcome challenge for the DNA designers. Originally, they intended to add an upper level to create more seating, but a veto by the landlord meant they had to get creative. The solution not only created visual balance for the tall ceilings but also ended up being pivotal in The Duo’s ability to transition between day and night use.

“We wanted a centrepiece that truly embodies The Duo,” Samphel says. To fill the bill, they designed an intricate glass dragon that twists and twirls in delicate ribbons above the customers’ heads. Suspended from the ceiling by reinforced steel wire, the sculpture incorporates colour-changing LED lights that illuminate the whole space: soft white during the day and perhaps something a bit more sultry, like green, blue, or pink after the sun sets. “The dragon isn’t just decorative—it’s a dynamic light source that shifts with the time of day, setting the tone for a seamless transition from café to bar.”

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