David Velasquez at 82-01 Northern Blvd.
July 18, 2018 By Christian Murray
A modern café/bakery will be opening at the corner of 82nd Street and Northern Boulevard in September.
The eatery, to be called Parva Bake Shop and Café, will be owned and operated by the family behind Seba Seba, a chain of Colombian bakeries.
Seba Seba, which operates three establishments, has been in the Jackson Heights neighborhood for more than 30 years, with the opening of its first bakery at 83-03 Northern Blvd. in 1987. A second Seba Seba bakery opened at 79-28 37th Ave. in 2002; and a third at 96-01 Roosevelt Ave. in 2004.
David Velasquez, whose father and uncle established Seba Seba, said Parva will be separate.
He said that Parva will offer Colombian baked good similar to Seba Seba but will also sell traditional European items such as scones, croissants and bagels.
However, items such as scones and croissants will incorporate South American flavors. He said they include popular fruits such as passion-fruit, guava and soursop.
“We want to stand out. Anyone can offer a croissant, but not everyone can add our ingredients and make them the way we do,” Velasquez said.
Traditional Colombian food—from chicken stew to breads–will be offered. Items such as empanadas will be baked as opposed to fried to appeal to the health conscious. All items will be made on site.
83-03 Northern Blvd
The establishment will offer coffee imported from a number of regions in Colombia that it will roast.
“I want Americans, Colombians— all foreigners—to feel welcome,” Velasquez said, whose father came to the US in 1970.
“My family are bakers,” Velasquez said, who was raised in Sunnyside. “My dad’s two sisters own Seba Seba bakeries in Colombia,” he said.
Parva will be located where Conway Funeral Home had operated for decades. The funeral home, which has another location on the corner of the block, used to use the 82-01 Northern location for its receptions, Velasquez said, whose family own the building. The funeral home said it didn’t need the space anymore.
The café/bakery will have room for about 10 seats, with plans to add sidewalk seating for the summer of 2019 which will add about eight more seats.
Velasquez will also be operating a laundromat next to the café to be called Aquarelo, which will consist of about 60 washing machines.
“People will able to get a coffee and something good to eat while they do their laundry,” Velasquez said.
79-28 37th Ave
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5 Comments
What a very interesting concept. I hope you guys are very successful and will definitely stop by. Don’t any mind to negative people, people just want to gossip instead of supporting local business. Good luck.
Welcome home
The spirits that have remained earthbound from the former funeral home will be delighted to sample some of the yummy Colombian sweets!
It will be nice to have a piece of Colombia in this block!! Good luck!
Bienvenidos y buena suerte!!