The Ferry and the Street Share a Number
Bay Ridge has a quirk of naming that most of Brooklyn does not. Below 65th Street, several of the numbered cross streets carry names instead of numbers, and Bay Ridge Avenue is the street that would otherwise be called 69th Street. Follow it west and it ends at the water, at the pier that everyone in the neighborhood still calls the 69th Street Pier.
That pier is where the NYC Ferry ties up. It is also formally known as the American Veterans Memorial Pier, and it is the southern anchor of the city's Brooklyn ferry service. For anyone who commutes from Bay Ridge, the boat is the rare New York trip that starts with a view instead of a turnstile.
And Pier 69 Market sits on that same street, at 10 Bay Ridge Ave, a couple of blocks up from the landing. That is not a coincidence. The cafe takes its name from the pier at the end of the block.
One street, two numbers, and a boat at the end of it. The Bay Ridge ferry commute is the only one in the city where the coffee stop has a water view built in.
Timing Your Coffee Around the Boat
Ferry commuting rewards people who plan in ten-minute increments. You cannot hold a boat the way you can catch the next train, so the question is never just "where is the coffee" but "how much time do I have."
Weekday Mornings Open at 6 AM
Pier 69 Market opens at 6 AM Monday through Friday. That matters more than it sounds. Early ferry departures from Bay Ridge leave before a lot of the neighborhood is awake, and a 6 AM open means you can pick up a cup on the way down the hill rather than waiting until you reach Manhattan and pay Midtown prices for it.
A practical rhythm for weekday riders: leave yourself about fifteen minutes between walking in the door and needing to be at the pier. That covers the order, the wait, and the walk down Bay Ridge Avenue toward Shore Road. If you are cutting it closer than that, order ahead through GetSauce or call (718) 777-6969 and pick it up on the move.
Weekends Open at 7 AM
On Saturday and Sunday the cafe opens at 7 AM and stays open until 9 PM, same as weekdays. Weekend ferry riders are usually a different crowd than the weekday commuters. Fewer laptops, more strollers, more people heading to DUMBO or Wall Street for the day rather than for work. The pace is slower, which means there is actually time to sit down before the boat instead of ordering on the run.
If you are making a whole day of it, the full Bay Ridge waterfront day works in either direction: coffee first, then the ferry out, or the ferry back and a late lunch on the way home.
What Actually Travels Well on a Boat
An open-deck ride changes the calculus on what to order. Wind, a boarding ramp, and a seat you might not get all argue for a lid and a stable center of gravity.
Cold Drinks Win on the Water
Iced drinks are the safest bet. The Cold Brew holds its temperature through the walk and the ride, and it does not need to be rushed the way a hot cup does before it goes lukewarm. The Iced Matcha Supreme is the other strong candidate, especially for riders who want caffeine without the coffee edge. Both come with lids, which is the whole point.
If you want the difference between cold brew and simply pouring hot coffee over ice, that is a real distinction and it changes how the drink tastes on hour two of a commute. We covered it in cold brew vs iced coffee.
Hot Coffee, Done Right
Hot coffee on a ferry is entirely doable, it just wants a bit of discipline. The House Drip travels best because it is a simple, stable cup with nothing to separate or deflate. An Americano is the espresso-based equivalent. All of it is built on La Colombe coffee, which is the roaster the cafe has built its espresso program around.
Where hot drinks get fussy is milk-and-foam territory. A Cappuccino or Flat White is genuinely better sitting at a table than carried onto a moving boat, because the texture that makes them worth ordering is the first thing a ten-minute walk destroys. Drinking in, that is the order. Running for the pier, it probably is not. For what separates them, see cappuccino vs latte and cortado vs flat white.
Tea for the Non-Coffee Commuter
Not everyone wants espresso at six in the morning. The tea program runs on Rishi, and the range covers most moods: Earl Grey Green and Wild Thai Black Tea for people who want caffeine, Chamomile and Mystic Mint for people who do not, and Turmeric Ginger or Blueberry Hibiscus for something in between. There is a full guide to the Rishi lineup if you want to work through it properly.
Breakfast You Can Carry Onboard
The ferry ride into Manhattan is long enough to eat on, which makes the Bay Ridge landing one of the few commutes where a real breakfast is realistic instead of aspirational.
The one-handed options are the useful ones. Bacon, egg and cheese on a croissant or roll is the classic, and the Sweet and Smokey BEC is the house version of it. A Breakfast Burrito is the tidiest thing to eat standing up. Avocado toast is better at a table than on a bench. Pastries handle travel well: croissants, muffins, apple turnovers.
If you want to sit down and eat properly before the boat, the Breakfast Plate or Potatoes and Eggs is the order, and the weekend 7 AM open gives you room to do it. The full menu has the complete list, and our breakfast sandwich guide goes deeper on the handheld side.
The Return Trip
The evening side of the ferry commute gets overlooked. The boat comes back to the 69th Street Pier at the end of the day, and the cafe is open until 9 PM seven days a week, which covers most of the returning schedule.
Nobody wants a double espresso at 7 PM. What the return trip is actually good for is the decompression stop: a smoothie, a cup of Chamomile or Mystic Mint, a Hazel Blended Hot Chocolate when the weather turns. Or dinner, if the walk home from the pier has already convinced you not to cook. The lunch and dinner side of the menu runs all day.
Summer evenings, the smarter move is to take it outside. The waterfront is right there, and the outdoor seating faces the same harbor you just crossed.
Practical Notes for Bay Ridge Ferry Riders
- Check the schedule before you leave. NYC Ferry service times and routes change seasonally, and the South Brooklyn route is no exception. The NYC Ferry app or ferry.nyc has the current departures and fares.
- The pier is at the bottom of the hill. Bay Ridge Avenue slopes down toward Shore Road. The walk to the pier is easy. The walk back up, coffee in hand, is the part people underestimate.
- The R train is nearby. The Bay Ridge Avenue station is on the same street, which makes the block a natural connection point between the subway and the ferry.
- Weather is a real variable. An open deck in February is a different commute than an open deck in June. Hot drinks earn their keep in the winter months.
Where to Find Us
Pier 69 Market is at 10 Bay Ridge Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11220, open Monday through Friday from 6 AM to 9 PM and weekends from 7 AM to 9 PM. It is a short walk from the 69th Street Pier ferry landing, close to Owls Head Park, and a few minutes from the R train at Bay Ridge Avenue.
Whether you are catching the boat, coming off it, or just walking the waterfront with no particular plan, the coffee is on the way. Hours, directions, and parking notes are on the visit page, and the coffee near the NYC Ferry page has the short version if you are already on your feet.
Coffee Before the Boat
Open at 6 AM weekdays. La Colombe coffee, Rishi tea, and breakfast a short walk from the 69th Street Pier.
