Welcome to Soft Butch

We are Antæus (he/him) and Mika (he/him), two trans men working together to create a new coffee and bar space powered by queer community and quality tastes! Working together for years in coffee spaces, we’ve found comradery not only around making fantastic drinks but also shared life experience. As we’ve moved into new and exciting spaces in our coffee, restaurant, and bar careers, we found that our true goal is shared: opening a coffee and bar space together.

As much as we are dedicated to bringing great drinks to the public, we both have deep roots in our queer community. Mika has worked in cafes, bars and restaurant management for the past 16+ years, amassing critical acclaim from the US Coffee Championships Coffee In Good Spirits, a Nationally recognized coffee cocktail competition, and been featured in Eater.com, Liquor.com, Barista Magazine, and many more podcasts and blogs as an influential player in the specialty beverage industry. Throughout, Mika has been an out, proud trans individual, consistently prioritizing visibility and making space for those like him. Antæus has worked in bars as a drag performer for 10+ years, performing and producing, as well as garnering deep bonds with queer nightlife and bar culture as a space to find oneself and commune with other queers. As Antæus has expanded into daylight work in coffee shops for the past 6 years, it’s been a pleasure to find new ways to connect over warm coffee and deep conversation.

Established in April of 2024, and now opening our Brick + Mortar space in September of the same year, we are dedicated to keep building our community here in Bed Stuy with events, chats, and socials. Even now, we see the space we are creating filled with new and exciting possibilities, fueled by our communities needs and ideas! Our mission is and will always be to  be a space built for community and support our friends and neighbors in connecting to each other and the world through amazing coffee (and soon to be cocktails!) and conversation.