Brandon and Faith Lee, neither with coffee experience, opened the first Bird & Branch in February 2018 with a plan to train people facing barriers to employment. The program launched that December with Brooklyn's Hope Organization and is funded by cafe and online sales. The founders have said the mission from the start was to be restorative.
In 2019 the espresso came from San Francisco's Saint Frank, whose owner the Lees had visited before opening. The coffee is now roasted locally in New York, and a second cafe sits at Pier 57. The Pickers Project, a washed coffee from community growers in Yacuanquer, Colombia, doubles as the Colombia espresso blend.
