Caffeine Underground

Caffeine Underground: A Space at the Intersection of Serendipity & Destiny

Caffeine Underground is a sober venue and café founded in 2017 by Ian Ford, former technical director at Webster Hall. A DJ, producer, and Reiki master, Ian has been a fixture in the LGBTQ+ community and the goth/industrial scene since the ’80s, having done everything from appearing in a Cyndi Lauper music video to being Main DJ at Albion Batcave. His mission in creating Caffeine Underground was to create a hub for creatives to gather, practice, meet, and perform without the expectation to spend all of their money just to do so, similar to the kinds of spaces he had access to in the 80s. 

As Caffeine Underground was preparing to open its doors, current owner and gothic R&B musician K.C. Raniero was a college student at Temple University in Philadelphia, running a straight-edge vegan basement venue from their apartment called The Hippie Dust Den. Designed as a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ youth, The Hippie Dust Den raised funds for different charities at each show—always with coffee served. One of K.C. ‘s dreams was to someday open a coffeehouse/music venue with the mission of improving the lives of marginalized beings through community, music, and art. 

By the time Caffeine Underground officially opened in August 2017, K.C. had just spent their summer volunteering for Heritage of Pride, working with Stonewall veterans to execute the NYC Pride March. They were preparing to leave for London, where they would spend a semester immersing themself in the UK grime rap, guerrilla theater, and beatnik poetry scenes while volunteering at the Bloomsbury Arts Festival.

As Caffeine Underground gained recognition as the first café to serve CBD-infused coffee, K.C. graduated college and moved to a lighthouse on the outskirts of San Francisco in Montara, California. There, they worked in exchange for free housing, lived off frozen bananas and leftover curry paste, and spent her nights across from the Beat Museum at City Lights Bookstore, a 24-hour sanctuary for poets and musicians throughout history including Jack Kerouac, Bob Dylan, and Janis Joplin. It was during this time that first K.C. heard the belief that San Francisco is “Atlantis”—a place where people who are meant to find each other do. Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Caffeine Underground was evolving from a coffeehouse into an artistic hub in its own right, staying open later and later as it took on a life of its own.

In a brief attempt at stability, K.C. returned to Philadelphia to start a music lessons business—only for the pandemic to shut it down 12 days later. At the same time, in New York City, Caffeine Underground was navigating its own pandemic struggles. By the time the world reopened, K.C. decided the universe was nudging them away from a path of stability. They went to Greenwich Village with a piano and a sign that read, “I need to become a C-list celebrity by Friday.” Performing full-time on the street, they quickly went viral as the “mini Lady Gaga,” building a community of artists and launching their annual music and arts charity festival, Unity Fest.

In late 2022, K.C. planned to meet a friend at a coffeehouse to discuss Unity Fest, only to find it had closed early. They wandered down the street in search of another place and stumbled upon Caffeine Underground—a late-night sober hub for artists, with coffee, bookshelves, a basement stage, vegan snacks, and a thriving LGBTQ+ presence. To K.C., it was like stepping into a fusion of City Lights Bookstore and The Hippie Dust Den. That night, K.C. asked Ian for permission to host a gothic masquerade at the venue. A week later, it happened. From that point on, Caffeine Underground became her creative home.

In early 2025, K.C. decided it was time to return to California to expand their festival and following—to find “Atlantis” again. But just weeks after making this decision, Ian announced he was looking to pass ownership of Caffeine Underground into new hands. That was when K.C. realized: their calling wasn’t to seek Atlantis elsewhere, but to create it in New York City. 

Now, Caffeine Underground’s legendary owner is passing the torch, and the community has the chance to revitalize it for the next generation. But they have to move fast: the lease ends March 31st, and they need to secure a $50K down payment to have the opportunity to curate the space that they’ve been dreaming of, expanding its legacy with new events and better resources. 

In order to demonstrate how serious they are about this; they are throwing a 3-week-long music and arts festival between March 10th and March 31st. This ongoing, 21-day festival will feature international performers via digital portal who love Caffeine Underground as well as local performers in New York City. 

Back this project and become part of the story.

Once funding is secured, plans for revitalizing Caffeine Underground include: 

-Establishing The Supply Closet, a tattoo parlor and artist supply share space. Our tattoo artist is excited to host queer philosophy seminars and tattoo masterclasses. 

-Partnering with bookstores around the world to feature their books in our book corner/on our shelves, as a way of spotlighting thinkers and writers who come from different parts of the world. 

-Turning part of the store into a surf and skate shop, hosting artist-led skate deck painting events, and featuring brands with sustainable wax for skate and surf decks to highlight environmentalism. 

-Incorporating a great variety of vegan food and drink options in the cafe to center sustainability and animal rights. 

-Establishing the Warped Summer Series—an acoustic performance series featuring bands that have previously played on Warped Tour, as well as those participating in this summer’s 30th-anniversary reunion, complete with album signings.

-Offering free yoga classes and yoga-for-singers classes. 

-Continuing to host concerts, film screenings, art installations, book launches, craft markets, tarot card readings, writing groups,music productions and technology courses, and discussion groups. We’re building something revolutionary here—something that connects people, amplifies voices, and champions diversity. With your help, we can take this vision even further and continue to nurture creativity, artistry, and community in a space that is free from judgment, financial strain, and limitations.

Thank you for being part of this journey with us. Let’s create something that transcends boundaries and connects us all.

Caffeine Underground isn’t just a café. It isn’t just a venue. It is a place where people exist, connect, and create, free from the constraints of societal limitations. It is a space where marginalized voices find community through music, art, and the exchange of ideas. It is the place where all roads lead to Atlantis.