James Kim spent two years turning a vacant bank into downtown Rye's largest café.

Réunion Bakery & Coffee at 42 Purchase Street began welcoming visitors on a soft-opening basis Monday, Oct. 5, with an official opening expected by the end of the week, as first reported by the Rye Record. The 84-seat space occupies a former TD Bank building Kim's family has owned for decades.

As we reported Oct. 5, the café is the latest entry in a downtown stretch already packed with coffee options. Kim ticked off the competition by name: maman, Sunshine Coffee Roasters, Winfield Street Coffee, The Granola Bar, Le Pain Quotidien and Starbucks, which he called "the 800-pound gorilla of the coffee world."

Not everyone is surviving the crowded field. La Petite Bretagne, a creperie at 3 Purdy Ave. that opened in September 2025, closed the week before Réunion's soft opening.

Owner Jihaad Alyusif told the Rye Record his nearly year-old shop had been breaking even, but with deep-pocketed competitors like maman arriving in Rye, keeping it open was not worth it. Alyusif continues to run the original La Petite Bretagne in Mamaroneck.

Maman, a French-inspired chain, drew more than 400 customers when it opened at 64 Purchase Street on July 23. Marketing director Andrea Szot told the Rye Record in August that her team "is always thinking what can we do to make this a special neighborhood spot."

Kim is betting size and atmosphere will set Réunion apart. Pastry chef Alexis Grea oversees baking in a kitchen visible to diners. At the other end of the building, a roasting room lets customers watch beans being prepared before baristas pull their drinks.

The competition is real. But so are the remnants of the building's past life. The old walk-in bank safe is now restrooms.

Kim grew up in the Rye area. His parents opened Belle Cleaners in town in 1984, eventually expanding across Westchester and Fairfield counties before selling the business in the early 2000s. Kim later moved to Southern California before returning to open Réunion.

"I am so glad to be back. It is so nice here. So expensive, but so nice," Kim said.

Kim said he hopes Réunion will eventually grow from a single café into a chain.