Puuuulease on February 28, 2007, at 08:08AM – #1

This place took the downtown market for granted. Yes, there are 20,000 new residents. Yes, there are plenty of new developments. But slapping together a half-ass strip-mallesque coffee shop does not gaurantee patrons. Create a nice space, make good food, and word spreads.

This has nothing to do with location. Just one block away businesses are thriving (Pit Fire, The Edison, Groundworks, some Chinses food place). And please, talk to someone before picking a name like Cafe Cafe.

Sodha on February 28, 2007, at 10:02AM – #2

I have a concern. Is the UPS store at Market Lofts offline? I see their banner is no longer at Market Lofts.

Ken on February 28, 2007, at 10:22AM – #3

I will remember Cafe Cafe for the employee that took my money, then stared blankly at me until I reminded them that I hoped to receive a cup of coffee.

callie on February 28, 2007, at 10:57AM – #4

I KNEW this place would go out of business the second it slapped up it's rinky dink banner outside. It made NO sense. A lot of real estate for what they were offering. Not an ideal location -- but an owner with a better understanding of the downtown market and what it really needs could have done very well in the same location.

I agree with the strip mallesque comment from above. I think that by and large downtown residents have a different idea about what constitutes a place they want to support -- much of it has to do with aesthetics, most of it has to do with the quality of the food and service. Cafe Cafe (horrendous name) offered none of these.

I hate to be pleased that I called it from day one, as I want downtown small business to thrive. However, just like some of the downtown developers we see slapping up "lofts" without considering what downtown residents are actually looking for...I think it was inevitable that this would happen for Cafe Cafe. It will continue to happen for future business who take the same approach.

Mario on February 28, 2007, at 01:05PM – #5

I disagree with several posts above about the success of a restaurant having little to do with location. I do agree that Cafe Cafe left plenty to be desired, but Pete's Cafe and Pit Fire are no shining examples of even moderately appetizing food and fall far short of offering, at most, mediocre service. Yet these places manage to have built a name for themselves, to my surprise, even setting a standard for the future retail development of downtown (sigh).

Bryan on February 28, 2007, at 03:56PM – #6

I noticed this yesterday when I was walking from the Times to the Civic Center Red(/Purple?) line station. It really is too bad; the name was terrible and the space was much too tall and long. But the owner was really nice and the food was quite good (crepes were especially nice). Service was a bit slow and spaced out from time to time, and I always had a nagging feeling eventually they would find themselves in this spot. I kept mentally pulling for their success, but that wasn't enough.

meekorouse on February 28, 2007, at 04:33PM – #7

I liked Weeneez. When are they going to have one in South Park?? We have many a retail space that could use something that isn't a Starbucks and isn't a Subway at a gas station (I've had bad luck with sandwich shops at gas stations).

I think they would do amazing down here near Staples. They're raking in the bucks on parking alone down here. We need food while we're waiting for Ralph's to open that isn't so upscale (or gas station-y). I like eating at home and not worrying about how crappy I look. =)

danny on February 28, 2007, at 08:18PM – #8

ouch, I wonder how they are going to get out of that lease. I'm sure that their losses are in the high thousands if not hundreds. that block has trifecta and redewood, it would have been nice for the cafe to fill in the gap.

Benjamin Pezzillo on February 28, 2007, at 11:21PM – #9

Weeneez was such a huge disappointment. Not only do they lack french fries, there's no grill for things like grilled onions or toasted buns. Perhaps most disappointing of all, you would expect them to have perfected the 'Downtown LA Bacon Wrapped Dog' in a sanitary, health-inspected environment, but alas, no such luck.

Pete's lacks both good food and good service (except for the bar) but it gets high marks for atmosphere and as a spot people from outside of Downtown seem to not be afraid to try, perhaps because they recognize it as a frequent filming location.

Pitfire stays busy through lunch and does well into the evening but their delivery is hit and miss. I about finished with my third or fourth free pizza punch card if that gives you and indication of what I think of their pizza.

The kabob place on Main and Third is good. So are the sandwiches at LA Cafe on Spring.

In any event, opening a business is brave if for no other reason than subjecting yourself to the criticism of people who post to blogs...

Kenarch on March 01, 2007, at 01:38AM – #10

callie - I think you've hit it on the head. it really does have everything to do with getting the 'vibe' down here - and that's a lot more than just a pretty picture or a modern space... though South Park seems to be developing into both of those things. Location is important, though not as important as in a predominantly suburban area where most people seem to be creatures of habit and drive everywhere.

I am thinking of someof the businesses that I frequent most often Downtown - Blossom, Metropolis Books, Lost Souls, Pete's, Angelique, 626 Reserve, the Palace Bar at the Biltmore, Koraku and Philippe's... and the one thing that comes to mind is thatthey are all unique and one-of-a-kind places. I live in the Fashion District, so the only onestat are really close are 626 and Angelique... but I regularly walk to those near Pete's and occasionally Little Tokyo. Phillipe's is a place I usually drive to.

To me, if a business has a presence, an atmosphere, and the people there treat their customers well, they are on the right track. I remember several blogs about cafe cafe cafe cafe (how many were there anyhow... LOL) - being closed during stated business hours, having nobody at the counter for long stretches, etc.

Also - competition is a killer - and we have several REAL GOOD coffee houses here - Lost Souls, Groundworks, First Cup seems cool - and of course the cafe sua da at Blossom - so to make it in that market (and overcome the Starbux behemoth) there isn't any room for error.

I hope the people involved with that can get out of it with minimal damage - it is always terrible to see a place fold, no matter the reason - unless they were truly terrible, which cafe cafe was not.

grand oprning grand closing! on March 01, 2007, at 10:10AM – #11

Is this where that new Wine store is moving in? The top chef guy was planning on opening a wine store "next to the redwood bar" Is this it? .......................

Man that place really frustrated me. finally a place open within 1 block for saturday morning breakfast But it Stunk. Oh great a coffee place 1 block away oh yeah cold coffee. I know it meant well by hiring some challenged folks but when the crew seems to be eating more then the patrons and orders are forgotten for 30 minutes with no excuse it's pretty darn easy to understand why it closed. 1 thing they sure did jump into action to tear down the place it's almost bare in there as of this morning.

Whitman Lam on March 01, 2007, at 11:28PM – #12

I feel sorry for that poor little Cafe.

That corner was not a good location at all. Just outside the 2nd St. tunnel. If you were driving or riding by, you wouldn't notice it. There was no retail around it to generate pedestrian activity, like many parts of Downtown it was a dead space.

I would ride the City Hall Dash bus from Cal Plaza to this spot whenever I could. The service wasn't great. The food and drinks were okay in my opinion. I don't ask for much, just a place to sit, sip, eat, and read a paper in peace. I tip well. At the end of the day I know I made a difference.

I made a conscious decision, not long ago, to support places like this. Helping some people who deserved a second chance in life. A chance to re-enter society, earn an honest dollar without begging or thieving. Former homeless people trying to get off the streets, gang members trying to escape the cycle of violence and insanity that blankets our city. Our jails are full, our politicians are scrambling to buid more jails. Job opportunities are the cure.

Was it a bad coffee shop ? No... they made do with the limited resources they had... they did not have the organization or capital like a super-duper brand name franchise would.

Maybe as time went by they could make upgrades, spruce the place up, offer a broader menu. But nobody would give it a chance.

People would rather spend money on a cold heartless corporate conglomerate like Starbucks, giving nothing back to the community, reaping huge profits off of standardized sameness with no identity or character from coast to coast.

In another year Homegirl Cafe will open near Chinatown. It, too might fail, but I'll give it a chance.

Kenarch on March 02, 2007, at 05:53PM – #13

Whitman, that was a very cool post. I don't have a particular hatred for corporate places, and I do go to Starbucks if I am in a place where there aren't really any other choices... but here Downtown, we have so many indies that to not support them is like shooting ourselves in the foot. So many cities (Anaheim and Brea come to mind) literally tore down their downtowns and replaced them with faceless corporate chain stuff. LA is trying to do the right thing (at least in my opinion) and is really working to create a vibrant, localized and self-sufficient community here. I support our local businesses because they are a huge part of what is making this area liveable again, and are the difference between walking down Spring, Main and Broadway and walking down a huge suburban boulevard in Thousand Oaks or Irvine. Sure, not all of our indies will last, but it should not be due to lack of local patronage. Hey - you can go to a Barnes & Noble anywhere, but they won't have Julie & Steve (Metropolis), or Duc (Blossom), or Virgil and Tyree (626 Reserve) working to make a difference in OUR 'hood, one storefront at a time.

DinLA on March 04, 2007, at 10:38PM – #14

I'm sorry to see them go. Not because they offered the best coffee, food, vibe or name. I am sorry because they had the backbone to give it a shot downtown when so many others are still waiting to see it all fail... I stopped by as often as I could, while I was (and still am) waiting for my place nearby to be finished. Oh well...

Downtown Lawyer on March 06, 2007, at 11:21PM – #15

I'm sorry to see it close. I went by yesterday for lunch and in the 10 seconds we stood there figuring out where to go next, at least 6 potential patrons came by. The service wasn't great, but for civic center folks who have to be back in court by 1:30, it was the perfect stop. Now all we have are the bizarrely decorated Redwood (great burger) and the dreadfully overpriced Trifecta which surely cannot last long.

Kenarch on March 06, 2007, at 11:53PM – #16

DT Lawyer:

Have you tried the places in the Higgins Building at 2nd/Main? Pitfire Pizza seems to be above average, there is a sushi type place in there and the new Groundworks Coffee.

Higgins on March 07, 2007, at 11:02AM – #17

The higgins has the pitfire, groundworks, the china bistro and the Edison in the basement. No sushi, though.

Julie Rico on March 07, 2007, at 09:44PM – #18

Whaddayatalkin about. We have grilled onions and we have a grill too. You should check out our cool kitchen in the back. You all really need to check out the rest of weeneez we have a beer and wine tapas bar and an art gallery and we are hanging in there. WHY? Because we offer very good fresh food. We have a new chef straight from Pinot and WOW it just gets better here everyday. 2 4 1 everyday from 4-7 till May See you soon.