Pay-by-the-Hour Coffee Shop Winning Praise in Williamsburg

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — If you're tired of paying $8 for a latte at Starbucks and then being ushered out the door, a new coffee shop in Williamsburg aims to let you sit down and stay awhile. Glasshour, which opened at 63 Skillman Avenue at the end of August, is not your typical Brooklyn coffee shop.

The shop doesn't charge customers by the drink, but instead by the hour. Pay $6 down and 10 cents an hour and you're welcome to drink as much coffee as your caffeine-loving soul can consume. The concept is popular in Europe and Russia, but the owners pitch it as the first hourly coffee shop in New York, if not the country. And it's already earning rave reviews from customers — 4 and a half stars on Yelp, to be exact.

Max Grigoryev and Zlata Joshlina, both born in Russia, got tired to hitting the same expensive shops in New York City and decided to open their own shop in the tradition they were used to from Europe.

The pair advertise it as more like a co-working space than a coffee shop. Though it's a little cheaper than the $220 per month you'll spend at places like WeWork — and those don't come with all-you-can-drink coffee and all-you-can-eat snacks.

"Basically we thought this was a really good idea to get people inside and know they were going to buy something," Grigoryev told Patch. "They go to Starbucks, sit down, and they open their computers and just work. It's different here. We actually call it 'communicational work consumption.'"

If you are going to plop down for the whole day it costs you $24. If you want a semi-permanent spot for all-you-can-drink coffee it's $100 per week and $200 per month. Joshlina said they'd already sold a few monthly passes to regular customers.

"Usually if people come in once, they come in again," Joshlina said. "It's great for repeat customers."

The spot has board games and a PlayStation 4 as well, if you just want to come in and play — instead of work — while you drink. They hashtag many of their tweets with "#anticafe."

The shop is small, but seats about 15 to 17 people comfortably the owners said, and they'll rent it out for groups up to a few dozen. But if you're going to bring a group, take note, the prices will vary depending on size and time.

Photo Credit: @glasshour_nyc on Twitter