Who we are
CopperLeaf Bakery & Coffee is an all-day bakery and café in Harlem, founded by chef Ruth Shin and Tadas Nikulin. It draws inspiration from different places and generations, but its identity is distinctly New York.
European baking traditions, Korean flavors, and the city's culinary cultures all find a place in CopperLeaf's kitchen. Behind it is a shared appreciation for independent neighborhood businesses, good food, and the traditions that immigrant families have carried into American life.
Opened in December 2025, CopperLeaf brings those influences together in the neighborhood where Shin grew up.
A Culinary Homecoming
Ruth Shin's path to CopperLeaf began long before the bakery opened its doors in Harlem. She grew up in the neighborhood, later worked as a chef in several restaurants, and ran her own cake business. Over the years, her work moved between savory cooking and pastry, two disciplines that now share a kitchen at CopperLeaf.
Her culinary interests have never been confined to one tradition. European baking techniques, Korean flavors, and New York's varied food cultures all find their way into her cooking. Croissants and naturally fermented breads share a menu with Korean-inspired sandwiches, savory pastries, and seasonal desserts. The combinations reflect a career spent exploring different approaches to food rather than following a single culinary identity.
When CopperLeaf opened, Shin returned to the neighborhood where she had grown up. The bakery brought together her years in restaurant kitchens, her experience as an independent business owner, and her interest in cooking across culinary traditions. This time, she had a place of her own in which to pursue them.
A Tradition That Runs Deep
For CopperLeaf co-founder Tadas Nikulin, feeding a neighborhood is a family tradition. Generations of his Lithuanian family operated grocery and other neighborhood businesses in Chicago, part of an immigrant tradition in which small enterprises became fixtures of everyday American life.
However, the ties to Lithuania were never severed. Across generations, the connection between the old country and the new endured, along with an appreciation for the foods and traditions that crossed the Atlantic.
Tadas is particularly interested in revisiting Baltic-rooted dishes that were once familiar in New York's immigrant neighborhoods. Some have faded from the city's everyday menus, though they remain part’s culinary history. His ambition is not simply to preserve them, but to find a place for them in contemporary New York.
At CopperLeaf, that interest sits alongside Ruth Shin's culinary perspective, shaped by years in professional kitchens and influences drawn from Korea, Europe, and New York. Their backgrounds differ, but both reflect something deeply characteristic of the city: the way traditions travel, evolve, and become part of somewhere new.
Join the team
We’re building more than a bakery — we’re creating a neighborhood space where great coffee, fresh-baked pastries, and bold, globally inspired flavors come together.
CopperLeaf is growing, and we’re looking for enthusiastic, reliable team members who care about quality, hospitality, and creating memorable experiences for our guests.
Contact us
Interested in working together? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!