Breaking Bad-Inspired Coffee Shop Walter’s Opens in Bushwick

Breaking Bad and coffee shops don’t make for an obvious team. Coffee shops are supposed to be relaxed and fairly quiet. Breaking Bad, on the other hand, is one of the most nerve-fraying, intense TV shows in existence. Still, in spite of this lack of cohesion, Walter’s, a Breaking Bad-inspired coffee shop, has just opened in Bushwick, N.Y.

As Brooklyn Magazine reports, Walter’s isn’t exactly overbearing in its reference to the AMC show, which concluded its run in 2013. Instead, the coffee shop uses subtle but explicit homages to the show. As Walter’s Head of Coffee and Shop Manager Michael “Panda” Fernandez puts it, “We’re not themed-it’s an ‘inspired by’ kind of deal.”

Brooklyn Mag, who visited the coffee shop on its opening day, describes Walter’s as an open, minimalist space designed after the sterile environment of a meth lab. The shop has lots of seating and outlets, and its dominant color is the yellow of the hazmat suits that were often worn on the show.

While some of the references to the show are subtle, others are much more in-your-face. The menu is laid out like the periodic table, and the coffee is served out of beakers. These reference points make the Breaking Bad themes clear without bashing customers over the head. Not watching the show is not likely going to be a barrier to entry.

In fact, according to Fernandez, Walter’s is incredibly popular with freelancers. “There are a lot of remote freelancers here, you can camp out,” he says. Walter’s is functional in this regard because of its abundance of both space and outlets. “We’re not going to kick you out,” he says, explaining why the size of Walter’s allows them to retain customers who may not purchase anything for hours at a time.

Walter’s is fluent in basic coffees, but don’t expect anything too fancy. Don’t expect to buy any meth there, either, although they do have blue rock candy that may scratch the same itch. Find out more on the Walter’s website, and check out a bevy of other BrBa-inspired foods right here.