Meet Your New ‘Boyfriend’: Brooklyn’s Queer Cocktail And Coffee Co-op

No, that’s not a witch’s coven you’re seeing, it’s Boyfriend, Brooklyn’s new queer cocktail and coffee co-op. Just steps away from M, J, and Z trains off Mrytle Avenue, Boyfriend beckons you inside with a glass door adorned with golden astrological decals, including its brand staple: a glowing sun giving a sultry wink. Inside, the space has an eclectic, maximalist, moody vibe. Queer patrons are draped over plush couches, reading books from the community bookshelf. 

“I wanted it to feel like you’re witchy and gay Arab aunt’s living room,” Hena Mustafa, Boyfriend’s co-owner and Creative and Cultural Curator, tells GO. “And I feel like the SWANA culture and witchy aesthetic weirdly overlap in a way that makes a lot of sense. So some people walk in and they’re like, ‘It looks like Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.’ Then some people walk in, they’re like, ‘It looks like my grandma’s house in Egypt.'”

Walk a little further and you’ll find the well-stocked bar, which serves a variety of fairly-priced and creative cocktails and mocktails. Try the refreshing Boyfriend Spritz, made with tequila, hibiscus, cinnamon, sumac, ginger, and turmeric. For a nonalcoholic option, order The Young Prince, made with gold rush apple, tarragon, rosemary, and described on the menu as “post-cottagecore, pre-grandmacore.” Bar Director and one of Boyfriend’s co-founders Kacey also has a selection of wine, beer, cider, and non-alcoholic shots—if that’s more your taste. 

“[Kacey] has this sort of like farm-to-glass philosophy, where a lot of the drinks are based on what’s seasonally flourishing,” Mustafa says. “We partnered with a few, like local farms, so the drinks on the menu will rotate depending on what’s available…She really prioritizes not wasting. For example, we have a cocktail that uses a lot of grapefruit rinds, but we don’t have the use for the grapefruit juice. So she created a mocktail that focuses on the grapefruit juice, so we don’t waste any part.”

Boyfriend also boasts a large coffee bar, which serves a rotating selection of espresso from Sey Coffee, a microroastery based in Brooklyn. Coffee Director and co-founder Nat can also whip up an iced Matcha Latte or a warm tea, sourced from two Brooklyn-based tea companies, Kettl and Dona + Zeeza. And Boyfriend has more in store. The space fans out into a huge (read: huge for Brooklyn) co-working space, which is also used for nighttime events.

Boyfriend officially opened its doors on March 29, but the idea began much, much earlier. It started as a joke between longtime best friends Hena Mustafa and Mica Fisher. Mustafa and Fisher, another co-owner who handles Boyfriend’s finances and operations, playfully dreamt of opening a lesbian co-op someday. But when the community seemed genuinely interested in the idea, what was once a dream became very real. 

“We were like, yeah, it would be insane, but we’re kind of insane, so maybe we should just do it anyway,” Mustafa tells GO. “So we had the concept and basically just started building the idea off of all of the things that we wish we had access to in the city but didn’t.” 

In June 2022, Mustafa and Fisher rented out a space and held their first event, advertising their lesbian co-op idea and raising funds. “We, like, got followers, and we talked about co-ops, and people expressed a lot of enthusiasm about this project,” she says.

Since then, Boyfriend’s four co-founders have done a lot of “learning on the job,” Mustafa says. And a lot of fundraising. “We auctioned off things. We sold merch. I think I auctioned off a date with myself,” she laughs. 

When searching for a space to make their co-op dream a reality, Fisher and Mustafa were grateful to have the help of The Working World, a co-op loan lender that focuses on funding projects made by and for marginalized communities. “If it wasn’t for The Working World’s loan, I would not be able to own a business,” Mustafa says. “I think a lot of children of immigrants or people of color just don’t have access to these opportunities.”

After finding their dream space near the train and signing a lease on Halloween (which Mustafa deems “the gayest thing we could have done”), Boyfriend was ready to become a reality. When renovating the space, Mustafa and fellow co-founders made a concerted effort to involve the community. They put out calls for help upholstering, sewing curtains, and hand-made star wall decorations, and the community showed up. “Everything from people we’ve gone on one date with, to exes, to co-workers we don’t know that well. People really just poured a lot of love into the space,” Mustafa says.

The entirety of Boyfriend was a community effort, even down to its business model. In the first year of planning, Mustafa and Fisher reached out to business owners across the country, particularly cooperative business owners, for any advice they were willing to share. “We were like sponges,” Mustafa says. “One thing that I find super valuable about both the cooperative and the queer community, is their willingness to share resources. So they’re like, ‘Take a look at our business model’, or, ‘Take a look at our numbers’…So we felt really held in the process.”

Since the grand opening, Boyfriend has hosted countless unmissable events. Due to the venue’s co-op model, the events it hosts offer a little something for everyone. 

If you’re a crafty gay, you won’t want to miss the monthly Sunday Sessions femme figure drawing class. For those looking for a classic night out, The Night We Met events showcase a range of BIPOC performers from drag queens to DJs. Whether you’re musically inclined or struggle to find the key, House of Dahab’s Queer Karaoke honoring pop icons and niche diasporic experiences is a night you won’t want to miss. 

Unlike many other queer spaces, Boyfriend pays special attention to their daytime, sober-friendly programming. As a distinctly and unapologetically leftist space, the co-op regularly hosts spaces for dialogue, radical education, and practical skill-building.

Kan Yama Kan, a series of leftist poetry readings organized by Palestinian-American poet Hala Alyan, sends all ticket proceeds to Gaza mutual aid. The CUNY Know Your Rights Teach-Ins help educate community members, whether it be trans people looking to navigate the bureaucratic obstacles of the Trump Administration or the Muslim community facing similar obstacles in the face of a potential new Muslim ban. 

“To be able to have things that are nourishing in different ways too, that aren’t just socially forward, but politically forward or just something to instill hope or movement when the political climate is so depressing,” Mustafa says. 

As the community grows, so will the programming, and that is all thanks to Boyfriend’s co-op model. While the co-op is currently run by the four founders, as employees pass one year of employment and experience working alongside each of the four founders, they will become owners in the co-op. 

Although the workers are legal owners of the business, patrons also have the option to get a governing stake in the organization. With a one-time payment of $200, members get access to special events and communication, a free monthly coffee, and the opportunity to run for a seat on the Council of Advisors, where they will represent community interests. 

The Boyfriend crew has also found community with other queer Brooklyn bar owners, creating a group chat with the owners of Ginger’s and The Bush to share safety concerns and resources. 

As staff become owners, Mustafa is thrilled to see how the space will take shape. “I’m excited to see them building events and see them pitching drinks for our menu, and see them contribute different ideas to our business,” Mustafa says. “Seeing a bunch of confident queer folks have autonomy over the way something grows is really cool.” 

While the co-op is labeled as a lesbian space, Mustafa makes clear that all women, trans folks, and nonbinary people are welcome. “It’s a choose your own adventure, and any title goes, so long as it’s respectful.”

You can visit Boyfriend at 1157 Myrtle Ave, Mondays through Thursdays at 8 am to 12 am, Fridays 8 am to 2 am, Saturdays 10 am to 2 am, and Sundays 10 am to 12 am. For more information, head to @boyfriendcoop on Instagram.