An Endangered Species: The Story of the Anthora Cup

While many New Yorkers casually refer to it as the “Greek diner cup” or simply the “paper coffee cup,” its proper name is the Anthora cup, and its story is inseparable from the city itself. The cup first appeared in the early 1960s, at a time when Greek immigrants were at the helm of New York City’s coffee shop and diner industry. To appeal to this community, Sherri Cup sales manager Leslie Buck designed a paper cup adorned with classical Greek imagery: the blue-and-white colors of the Greek flag, a graceful ceramic amphora, and the now-iconic phrase, “We Are Happy to Serve You.” Buck himself was a Czech immigrant, and legend has it that “Anthora” was simply his thick Eastern European pronunciation of the word amphora. The name stuck—and an icon was born.

Just as Buck anticipated, the Anthora cup was an immediate hit with Greek coffee purveyors, becoming a ubiquitous part of daily life in New York. By 1994, an astonishing 500 million Anthora cups were sold each year. But as Starbucks spread across the city with hundreds of locations, demand for the humble paper cup waned, and the Solo Cup Company ultimately discontinued its production. That might have been the end of the story—if not for those who understood that this cup was more than packaging. Preserving the Anthora became a mission, and at NYCoffeeCup.com, the cup was saved, celebrated, and restored to its rightful place as a New York cultural artifact. Because the Anthora cup reminds us that even the simplest objects can carry history—and that sometimes, saving a story is just as important as saving the thing itself.

Dedicated to preserving the legacy of the iconic Anthora coffee cup – a true symbol of New York City’s street culture, corner delis, and daily rituals – NY Coffee Cup celebrates its enduring design, cultural significance, and place in coffee history, both in NYC and beyond.