Anthony Kurutz formed Plowshares Coffee Roasters around 2008 to roast small batches for restaurants and cafes across the city. He opened the Broadway cafe in 2014, then in 2019 moved the roastery from Hillburn, in Rockland County, to 1351 Amsterdam Avenue, where a 1940s Probat UG-22 from Artisan Coffee Group was being installed behind large glass panes visible from the cafe.
The Amsterdam Avenue cafe hosts Sunday Sessions of live jazz, with customer contributions going toward paying the musicians. In September 2026 it announced a Thursday evening series.
