Ground Up

Light streams through the windows as the espresso machine roars; a gorgeous rich scent fills the air; and witty conversation unspools over the porcelain cups.That''s the café dream. Mark and Nina are about to experience the reality. Determined to re-create the perfect Viennese coffeehouse they descend on New York''s gritty but hip Lower East Side to educate the locals on authentic café culture. Soon Mark and Nina are in a downward spiral that will strip them of money friends sex life status shelter and finally sanity―and offer salvation through something they have never experienced: disaster.Inspired by the author''s own coffeehouse hell Ground Up is a sharp and funny portrait of a New York constantly reinventing itself and a surprisingly tender story of falling out of love and back in it again.