Billy is a born and bred Brooklynite. He is in his early 30s, born to a Dominican father and a Polish mother, who has a penchant for jazz music and loves travelling. Just below Billy’s family’s apartment is a deli that his father runs, while his mother, who’s also a florist, takes care of the cashier.
This is the prologue to Billy’s Block, a new spot in Senopati where citygoers can step into the life of Billy, and by extension, the melting pot of New York City neighbourhoods. The brainchild of seven friends—Ghaniya Kartasasmita, Faza Loeis, Arkan Loeis, Sena Suditomo, Raffi Abelard, Rayhan Diah and Sandy Karamoy—Billy’s Block is designed to resemble a three-story New York apartment block. On the ground floor is the recently-opened Billy’s Deli, and in the making is a jazz bar on the second floor, followed by a café on the third floor.
Since they opened in August, starting with Billy’s Deli, residents around Senopati Suites, office workers in the area, and families on their weekend outings have made their way to the establishment to have a taste of their New York-inspired street food menu, from the all-American breakfast and bites like Spice Bag (a popular Irish fast-food of popcorn chicken and triple-cooked fries thrown in with sauteed peppers and curry sauce), to their version of sandwich melts, Chinese takeout and halal bowls of chicken or lamb over rice.
Doubling down on the inspiration, they also rolled out milkshakes and slushies which they aptly called Mets and Yankees—and in a true New York minute fashion, almost everything is served in a takeaway box. The team has even designed their own Anthora cups—the blue–white-gold Greek coffee cups so distinct to New York’s café vernaculars—to serve their caffeine selections, like the smoky yet sweet roasted peanut latte.
Further set with a bodega (which also functions like a consignment store for local businesses), flower stands at the entrance and a vinyl corner that the team has currently curated from six records stores around the city (including the original first pressing of Dr. Dre’s The Chronic LP), each element seems to work to personify Billy and the environment he inhabits.
“Why do we have a vinyl corner here? Because Billy loves music, and his dad is used to collecting records so it got passed down to him, so this is like a tribute. While for the café on the third floor, the focus will be on pastries because his mother loves baking,” said Arkan, the head of marketing. “We don’t want [Billy’s Block] to be just any other place that people go to for one time; there has to be a story and [our characterisation of] Billy is central to this.”
