The arrival of the Precita Park Cafe on the eastern end of Precita Park has altered the geo-economic configuration of north Bernal. New businesses are attracting new customers. Old businesses are hurrying to adapt. Somewhere, Joseph Schumpeter is probably chuckling smugly to himself.
One immediate consequence of all this is that the on the western end of the park, the Park Bench Cafe has been shuttered and sold to Charlie, of the eponymous Charlie’s Cafe a few doors down. In addition, Charlie’s Cafe has expanded its hours, and launched a music and prose series called “Saturdays at Charlie’s.”
So what’s Charlie’s plan for the former Park Bench Cafe space? He has a few ideas, but he’s also soliciting input from the Citizens of Bernalwood. Neighbor Regina brings us this report:
The Park Bench Cafe closed without any warning last week (the owners have decided to move back home… not sure where that is) and the space has already been purchased by Charlie of Charlie’s Cafe. Charlie says he wants to know if the space would be best suited for a) a pet supply shop or b) a family oriented bar.
He’s holding a community meeting to hear what the neighborwood ™ has to say about the space. He has a sign-up sheet for the meeting in the cafe.
Charlie admits it’s been tough since Precita Park Cafe opened. He knows people who are trying to support both places, but he needs this new space to stay afloat. A competitor in that space could shut him down. He’s doing what he can to keep his cafe open. Finally, he’s open on Sundays. That should help!
So what’s going to keep Charlie in business? A pet supply shop or a bar? He says many neighbors cringe at the idea of an alcohol license in their backyard, but, IMHO, this isn’t the kind of neighborwood that should worry about hooligans taking over. The moms and dads and dog owners you see in Precita could use a place to go and grab a (hopefully local) beer or glass of wine. Charlie also points to several musician friends who would love to have a venue to play live music.
Perhaps we could get a pet supply shop with a bar?! Sell dog food by day, brewskies by night. Now that’s the ticket.
The question of what kind of business would most benefit the north Bernal ecosystem is an interesting one. Any other ideas? What should become of the former Park Bench Cafe?
PHOTO: via Bing
Bernalwood 
micro-microbrewery! yay!
Hope folks can attend our Precita Valley Neighbors Meeting this Saturday at Charlie’s from 9-10am so we can gather some great ideas!
really want a super good frozen yogurt place. coming from san diego i’ve been so sad about the lack of inventive, delicious lower fat/calorie frozen yogurt in SF (although the ice cream is sublime). Nubi is just a pale imitation, and it’s all the way at 16th + Bryant. a fantastic, self-serve with toppings pay by the ounce frozen yogurt place would be perfect near the park and rake in the bucks for charlie. i’m pretty sure my family alone could keep the place in business.
Rockit Swirl at Chenery and Diamond, tried them ?
awesome idea! i’d rather not see a dog store or pub.
“Family Friendly” bar needs to have food service, or else the kiddies won’t be allowed in. I could totally see something like a place with a really good curated selection of beer & wine, and some kind of outstanding snacky things — he could put in a wood-fired pizza oven — tapas — whatever.
My biggest gripe w Charlie’s is the quality of the food and the dudes behind the counter are really cold and unfriendly- Charlie himself is a great person, but those were the reasons we stopped going. Sometimes a local business is helped by new blood because they are forced to look at the weakness in their business and grow and change.
That said, a great restaurant with quality food and kids’ fare and microbrews would be great.
You’re lucky, Emily. I made a similar comment about Charlie’s staff a few weeks ago and was basically told I was a horrible person for saying so. I still agree with you, even if that makes me horrible.
The staff is always really nice to us. Never had a problem.
Vietnamese banh mi shop
Vegetarian restaurant that (a) offers lots of prepared, to-go items and (b) has a modern restaurant vibe that will appeal to today’s flexitarian
Tea house/wine bar combo where teetotalers can meet their oenophile friends
Some sort of exercise studio
Some sort of awesome afterschool program for kids
Or, of course, another gourmet ice-cream shop or hipster diner; San Franciscans are always looking for a new line to stand in.
a ‘family’ bar……what’s that?
Charlie might want to talk to Lisamarie of the Lucky Horse Shoe over here on Cortland before he starts having live music.
A family-friendly resto/bar would be great.
Hmmm. I’m all for family friendly food + booze (which, FWIW, is often why I find myself at Ye Olde Clame House on Bayshore, which has a full bar).
But on Precita Park, we already have a place that serves food with microbrews and wine, and it’s called, errrrr, the Precita Park Cafe.
Not sure how much that would help Charlie, then.
Bar with food would be excellent.
There isn’t a check cashing store in the ‘hood. Business opportunity?
A check cashing store sounds promising. Or maybe a place that sells auto parts, porn and whippits.
A bar with food and music (e.g., a pub) would be amazing…. I like Precita Park Cafe but it is not very cozy and the wine list is minimal (only 2 white wines that never change). So I think there is room for more food and restaurant options.
Pet supply store sounds boring IMO.
Vietnamese, gourmet ice cream, or veggie restaurant would also be great….
how bout we call it a “Whine Bar?”
Or instead, open a family-friendly pub that serves cocktails/frozen drinks from the copious produce/leftovers from the yuppie mart on the corner? If you’re interested in a demo, just respond. Cheers.
While there are some good options down in Hunter’s Point, Precita really doesn’t have much in the way of metal shops or cleaning/extermination supply stores. What about a mash-up of sorts, that provided on-site welding, machining and polishing services, while stocking a basic selection of industrial solvents and pesticides?
It would be great if such a store could be open 24/7, because sometimes you just need that flywheel resurfaced the night before the lowrider cruise–or you’re a busy, verminous family that burns through a 55 gal drum of TCE a week.
There could also be an opportunity to really increase community involvement/support by providing various other services in a rotating, “Pop-Up” fashion: engine steam-cleaning, frame straightening, you get the idea.
Another poster mentioned an after school center, which I think dovetails perfectly with this idea. Most kids today don’t get an opportunity to learn about flame brazing or which baits work best for Arvicolini voles.
+1
+ taxidermy classes
yes !
Restaurants? bars? Ice cream? Really? I’m not sure if you know but you can find all of those and more on 24th Street. What Precita really needs is a funky guitar shop for all of the neighborhood musicians (and for those living in the Mission). The place would be commercial, but not noisy or redundant of other area stores. The place could also have lessons to our neighborhood youths.
It should also sell vinyl LPs and sheet music.
I would love, love, love a wine bar at this location. Small bites to go with would be even better.
Are you guys forgetting about Bernal Supper Club? If they buy out Cafe Cozzolino, they already have a hood and a liquor license. It’d be way easier for them to solve all of our eating and drinking requests than the Park Bench location. I honestly don’t see how/why Charlie would be able to get a hood and a liquor license at Park Bench if he isn’t able to get one for his current cafe. Guess I’ll find out on Saturday.
I would love to see some kind of mashup like they did up on cortland – 4 stores, one store front. That way we can have a lot of the things that are missing from our little valley.
I also would love a consignment shop. I have a ton of stuff I want to sell, but don’t really have the time to do a garage sale. I find things here and there that I want to get rid of, but you can’t really have a sale with just 4 or 5 things. But if I could drop it off at a shop that’ll sell it for me, that’d be great!
Once upon a time, I also envisioned having an urban farming resource center somewhere around the park. It seems particularly fitting to our neighborhood, where we like to have chickens, goats, and veggie gardens, and share the fruit from our fruit trees. A trading post, maybe. Lots of educational opportunities for the kiddos at a place like that. Could be a good community builder.
Not sure if my ideas are cash cows, though.
I’m inclined to agree with this general analysis. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve concluded that the space and the location are best-suited to some sort of specialty food retail. It’s not a big space, and between Precita Park Cafe, Bernal Supper Club, and (yes) Charlie’s Cafe, the general-interest food niche seems pretty well filled out.
But there’s nothing specialized, anywhere nearby. I won’t bother to suggest exactly what that specialty category might be — ice cream? pizza? Bahn-mi? etc. etc. — because the success of such businesses seems to be a direct function of how good and unique they are.
Put another way, if I told you an ice cream store was going in at Harrison at 24th, you might say, “that’s nice.” But once you’ve been to Humphry Slocombe, chances are you had your mind expanded, such that you are likely to go back again (and again). Ditto any of several stand-out local businesses: Sandbox Bakery, Paulie’s Pickles, Avedano’s, Torta Gorda, Anthony’s Cookies, yadda yadda.
It’s the focus on a clearly defined niche and excellent execution that makes such businesses thrive over time, and given the existing landscape, that seems pretty essential for a new business in that storefront.
While I would love a shorter walk to a good bar, for me such a place would need to be competing against the likes of Dirty Thieves or Pops, I doubt a family-friendly type place would get much regular business from me or many of my friends. Admittedly I and most of my local friends are xAnd I have my doubts that any place in that space would be likely to get a full liquor license from the city.
I have my doubts that any sort of food and booze joint would do all that great in that space, especially if Cafe Cozzolino transforms into something worthwhile. Of the ideas I’ve seen around a good bakery is perhaps the best for something that isn’t already a few block walk from around here.
(I’m just going to put in my request for a good take-out BBQ joint, but I’m not sure thats viable).
BBQ? HINT: Baby Blues is 5 min from here, on Mission/Precita. Also: YUM.
Neighbor Regina here with an epiphany. You know La Cocina, on Folsom? Wouldn’t it be cool if the new Park Bench Cafe could be the storefront for a different ethnic food restaurant every month or quarter? It would give us neighbors a chance to try new food on a regular basis and give aspiring restaurant owners the chance to try their trade. \
I truly hope that Charlie doesn’t close the steel rolling doors at 3 pm like he does now. They look like twin fortresses, ruin the street-scape , and generally bring the neighborhood down. I was delighted that The Precita Park Cafe joined the mix because it is so inviting. Morning noon and night. Harvest Hills and Cafe Cozzolino don’t need to make our neighborhood a war zone. Charlie’s has hostile service too. I boycotted both of them for their steel door attitudes.
Yes, whatever you do, please please get rid of the nasty steel doors.
Yes, I’ve lived in Bernal for 26 years. We have raised three daughters here. We love our neighborhood and the new improvements. Those steel doors have GOT To GO!
Agreed. The steel doors on Charlie’s make me subconsciously think it’s a sketchy place. And agree, in the evenings when it’s closed, it makes that part of the block look beleaguered.
I think Todd might post a follow-up to the meeting on Saturday and repeat this, but since I have a minute… Charlie explained that the big steel door is not to his liking nor his choice. His iron-fisted 96-year-old landlord, who lives just above his cafe, has mandated its use. Multiple attempts by Charlie to get rid of the steel door or otherwise enhance the facade of the building/cafe have been dismissed. The landlord’s son, who lives on the top floor and helps take care of his mother, seems to share the same opinions as his mother and appears to be unable to influence her one way or another.
What can we do? Someone at the meeting suggested someone draft a quick letter, that neighbors sign it (perhaps this can be done virtually? Although a woman of 96 might not consider that legit, who knows. I suppose it can be left in Charlie’s and those of us who know about it can go in and sign it.) explaining that the vast majority of the neighborhood would prefer that the steel door be taken down and maybe a word about allowing Charlie to paint the exterior of his cafe. He has offered to pay for all these changes, so there really isn’t any good reason for her to say no, it seems. But we did not hear her side of the story.
Yes, we’re relatively new to the area (6 months) but Charlie’s was almost never open when we wanted it to be, and between the steel doors and the somewhat surly service (Charlie himself being the nice exception) it felt like he needed a good wakeup. I wasn’t at all sorry to see Precita Park Cafe open. Competition’s a good thing.
As far as what to do for the utterly useless Park Bench space, a small specialty eatery would be awesome. Whether it’s sushi or just a good sandwich shop is almost immaterial. Just not italian, chinese, or mexican, please.
+1 vote for ice cream shop. Why did Maggie Mudd ever have to close? Would also love something along the lines of Kasa or Dosa there.
A bakery, a really good sandwich shop, a dumpling shop, OR A SUSHI BAR. There is so much potential, but it can’t be only open for lunch, it has to be open until late evenings. Another option would be a grocery-style deli / meat market, which would be a great compliment to Harvest Hills.
I’d love to see Bernal get a good coffee shop, with regular coffee shop hours—that corner would be the perfect spot. No offense to the nice businesses that currently serve coffee on the hill, but the comic store on Mission is probably the closest place to get a better-than-average cup of coffee. Come to think of it, I’d be happy with a bakery in that space too, but I’m not sure I’d wish that on the folks living upstairs.
Whatever the space may become, I hope it’s run by someone passionate about what they’re offering.
If you are referring to Caffeneited Comics, it has closed due to poor business. Sad. It was a great place.
Oh dang, I was.
So many good suggestions. Here are a couple of things I’d love to see on this side of the hill:
– Pinkberry or a similar yogurt shop. Doesn’t have to be a chain, but I think it would be a great business to have across from a park.
– If you’ve ever been in Seattle, there’s a Greek restaurant called Vios that has a cordoned-off play area for kids. The adults can sit and enjoy a casual dinner while the kids play, safely, in the corner. I wish we had something similar here.
– A full-service florist shop (with chicken and goat supplies, too?)
– An old-fashioned 5&10 stationery shop with an excellent selection of stickers and art supplies
– A Lotus Garden offshoot
– And I love Nina’s idea of another business incubator like 331 Cortland!
One more idea: a cheese shop. Mmmmm, cheese.
+1 (cheese store could also sell deli cold cuts and such)
The Laurelwood is a brew pub in Portland with a play area for kids. We go with our three boys every time we are there. Though the food isn’t great, it’s very social for families. Being able to take our time sitting and eating, having a couple of beers, with friends while the kids play, is a great experience. If a place opened like that, we would be there at least once a week.
Let’s get Olivier’s butcher shop to move in with a cheese shop in half of it!
+ 1
+1
I think what we really need is a really grimy liquor store. We used to have them on either end of the park, but they were gentrified. If Charlie could do his part and build a place that smelled of disinfectant, vomit, and urine that’d be great. Bonus points for stale cigarettes, incense, and bottles of Thunderbird in shopping carts. He could show he understands the ‘hood by selling preprinted angry parking notes! Really, the possibilities are limited only by our imagination.
Or a wine bar with tapas/small plates and some good grub for the ankle biters. Whatever.
“between Precita Park Cafe, Bernal Supper Club, and (yes) Charlie’s Cafe, the general-interest food niche seems pretty well filled out.”
This makes no sense to me. PPC has sandwiches and salads only, BSC is only open 2 days a week, and charlies again only has sandwiches and other deli stuff. How on earth is that pretty well filled out??
There is PLENTY of room for more good food in our little neighborhood beyond sandwiches. I wish I didn’t have to go to Courtland or the Mission to get some real food. A taqueria or unique mexican place would be awesome! It’s a tiny space, I don’t think a huge restaurant would fit there. A wine bar would be perfect, something similar to the little place on Courtland, but why do we have to accommodate children? I’m not against them, but there is a playground, activity center, kids painting place, and kid-friendly cafes around the hood. Why not an adult-only place where the adult neighbors can hang out together?
Just please, anything but a pet store (this coming from a pet-owner).
Yes, there is already a children’s play area at Precita Park cafe, etc. I agree with Todd– success comes down to quality of the product. If you pick one kind of food thing and make it amazing, it will succeed.
A nuevo-taqueria like Pepito in Potrero (or even Papalote) would be awesome here. But the owner/operator of it has to be passionate about what they’re doing. If the business is run with love, the success will follow.
Keep in mind that PPC will be awarded a hood after a year of proven success, once they have that, they can diversify their menu and expand dinner offerings. And BSC might buy out Cafe Coz. If that happens, they will be there every night! I am sure they would be willing to amend their offerings to appease the locals. If those two things happen, then we don’t really need another restaurant option on that corner.
But anyway, it doesn’t matter what any of us want. The real crux of the issue is what Charlie is passionate about. If he were planning to rent the space out to an entrepreneur, that’s one thing, but if his plan is to run the business himself, that’s another. If he can’t make his current cafe successful, what kind of business could he do better? I don’t think any of us get to really decide that, it’s up to Charlie. I just hope whatever he is really good at is something we happen to need or want!
I must have missed some previous edition where people aired their feelings about Charlie’s staff. I’m truly wondering what that’s about. I’ve never had any problems with them. If I chit chat and smile, they do. If I’m all business and just need my caffeine, they are matter of fact. Perhaps I have lower expectations.
The steel gates would not be as offensive if Charlie’s two businesses stayed open a bit later. Even at 7pm they would seem less urban blight-like. Whatever he decides, I hope it all works out. I like Charlie’s (try the Ruben sandwich, it’s really good) and I think he offers a quieter, more laid back alternative to Precita Park Cafe’s loud music and children scene. Bernal Height Supper Club is a bit pricey, so a less high-end eatery seems okay. But then, I would use a pet store too, so I clearly don’t represent the majority.
Nail joint, Real Estate office, or Wal-Mart Express?
A strip joint for bernal moms and dads! Come on, parents! Dance your cares away! The pole is very forgiving.
+1. Pole dancing/yoga studio?
Maybe Charley would consider having one of our neighbor artist do murals on the doors, we (SF) are known for are murals. Wine bar sounds great, bring a plastic cup and take your kid across the street if they must come out with you parents.
I think we’re coverd on the food front…Charlie’s Saturdays are a great addition, and he can refine his menu/service to adapt to the ‘hood instead of starting something new in that department.
The 5&10 and business incubator ideas are compelling, and it seems like a pet component would do well.
My first thought was a shop that sells micro-local handmades, offers related classes and hosts stitch-and-bitch type groups…I’d love to program, sell and buy there!
Video rental place! Ever since Hollywood Video closed, my VCR rarely gets any play.
BTW, there’s an Auto Zone opening where Hollywood Video used to be – corner of C. Chavez @ SVN.
Remember a few years ago how all these neighbors were protesting the paint store that was going to go in there? They were afraid it would attract to many day workers / “ilegals” although that wasn’t PC to say so they had to say instead it was too industrial of a store for the neighborhood. I’m glad something is going in there, vacant properties in disrepair are always an ugly spot in the ‘hood.
Our family will happily shop at both places as long as there are no steel doors insulting the neighborhood.
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Can’t Charlie just chain the gumball machine and go sans steel curtains?
Well said! Mr. Charlie., tear down that wall!
I think we need a local marijuana dispensary. Especially since it’s right near the park. People could make their purchases and then go medicate across the street.
It seems that, from what I’ve heard, a tapas bar of some sort is the plan right now. That sounds fine–better than most alternatives listed spiritedly (and even jokingly!) above.
I agree with a couple things that many have also said, and have some things to add:
A) It make a huge difference if the place is run with passion–unlike Park Bench Cafe, which I did like but it was going through the motions for years, and the famous “Italian” restaurant on the corner, which is almost ludicrous in its existence. I wager to say that it also has to be run with more passion than Charlie’s is now, which is not a shot at the cafe but more like a call to simply do things better.
B) Customer service at Charlie’s Cafe is best done by Charlie, and a new place must have a different standard for treating customers and providing slightly better-prepared food–just one notch above would make a huge difference. At his cafe, sometimes staff can seem a bit hurried (or maybe apathetic)–and I know they don’t have many people working at once–and don’t focus on finer but very basic points of service, like asking if you’d like X toasted, etc. It’s 2012 in San Francisco; people have very precise preferences, and service in a neighborhood cafe (that relies so, so heavily on the local community just walking by and in and not on people driving there for “the scene”) should make a better effort to be professional, thorough, and careful. Don’t take customers for granted–no matter how well you think you know them or how long they’ve been coming to your business, etc. I already see–in two visits to Precita Park Cafe–that there is a premium on being friendly (enough) at the order station, clear about purchases, in eye contact with customers, and having attentiveness to people and products. Of course, they do have more staff–makes a clear difference–and have more to gain right now by doing all these things, and any new place opened under Charlie should follow that example.
As an aside, but one related to a new business: One real negative of the recent re-design at Charlie’s is that it gutted much of the “community” feel by dividing the space into cold-feeling sections, making it near impossible, for instance, for people with strollers to come in and find a comfortable place to sit; I haven’t seen a group of moms with strollers in here for weeks, with their business likely lost–permanently–to the new addition down the park. (One can no longer even sit at one side of the cafe and look across to the other side with any sense of open space, which is nice sometimes just to clear your head and soak in your surroundings.) I know: many people will say that a place should not cater to children or those with children, but such people have made up a significant percentage of Charlie’s customers for many years, and without kids many businesses fail since the parents also don’t come, at least not as often. The re-design also forced larger tables to disappear, so it’s become harder for even three people to sit somewhere and have a conversation. I hope a new establishment does not use the same “designers” and is more creative and invests more thoughtfulness in its quest to “keep up with the Joneses” who moved in down Precita.
I would like to see a deli with fresh cut meats, cheeses and typical deli fare like salads and such. That would make a great compliment to Harvest Hills market.
Nina Know you got all thats ideas? Who invite you ? Who ask you to be there ? I never see you there the time ppc opened . Or you just remembered that’s your neighborhood ? Are you collecting note’s or idea’s ? Are you really planing to be there ? you’ll don’t be shy between the neighbors?
I don’t understand what you’re saying. Could you try it again in your first language? Maybe I will be able to understand that better.
I think what tonina is trying to say is where were all your ideas when park bench was actually opened…and now that it’s closed and you wrote so many horrible comments about the place, you actually are going to go there again? …there’s nothing wrong with toninas english…we just have to be able to interpret it…go tonina for actually writing your opinion…I understood u because I chose to do so…
Hey Lizzie,
Thanks for clarifying that. I’m pretty sure you and “To Nina” both read my ideas about Park Bench before they closed. 1) Serve better food. 2) Provide better service. That’s all it really takes to do well around here. I made those comments weeks before they closed. And if you read the comments in this thread, you’ll see plenty of our neighbors have the same opinion, so I’m not sure why you two are singling me out.
And of course I’ll go there again, when there is a new business there. And I still go to Charlie’s. They are close to my house, and I like supporting all the local businesses when I can. I may not like the service, but sometimes it is worth it to not have to walk those extra 3 blocks to PPC. Also, I like the smoothies at Charlies. Did you see, again, in the comments above, how many people agree with me about the service at Charlies? I still don’t think their food is that good, but I’ll still go there from time to time.
Lizzie, I really don’t appreciate the way you keep on talking down to me. You’re insulting me and I don’t like it. You know, we probably know each other in person? We both have two kids and live in this neighborhood. Why don’t we get together and have a talk, face to face? You can get to know me and see that I am not as horrible of a person as you think I am.
I have lived in Bernal Heights for over 7 years, I lovingly own my home, I care about the people in my neighborhood and the surrounding businesses. I get involved with as many community projects as I can (including, but not limited to, the type of business that went into the Rite Way space, park clean up/plantings, cesar chavez revamp, and soon, the new colors for the precita park playground – yay! I also tried to start a neighborhood watch for my block, only to find out the neighbors don’t really want one), I attend as many of the PVN meetings as I can, etc etc. I believe this gives me the right to have an opinion, and this forum is a good place to express it.
And Charlie knows me. He and I had a lot of discussions about the Rite Way space. We played with ideas of going into business together. But I was pregnant at the time and now with two young kids, I don’t really have the time to devote to something like that.
ToNina: No, I am not personally collecting ideas. Charlie is. And I went to the meeting that all the neighbors were invited to, to listen to Charlie’s plan and give him feedback about what we thought of it. It is funny the thing you said about being shy. Sometimes I am shy, so I might actually be shy between the neighbors. Kinda depends on the situation.
Anyway, this is probably way more than you or anyone needed to know about me. But I hope this answers your questions.
a fun and cool brunch place or a local bar with out door seating would be soo lovely.
a bakery with real great fresh and high quality goods. The Precita Park cafe is raising bar
charlie can do even better then that!
simple and cool , European minimalist ‘gemuetlichkeit’ is what we need!
PET STORE PLEASE!!! PET STORE PLEASE!!! PET STORE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do you know how many DOGS go to that park?!?!?! I loved having Bernal Beast up the street before, and now my closest local pet store is in Noe Valley…. when the best park is right here! Please please put in a pet store. Bar would be great, but secondary. I can get booze elsewhere for now!
Almost the holidays and this storefront is still being wasted with a big nightly eyesore. I know a bunch of people that are going to oppose a liquor license for this location if it gets posted. What is the plan new owner? We have a liquor store, a cafe with a bar and a new restaurant with a new bar across the street do we really need another bar? How about something family friendly?
I hear nothing will go in this space now. It will remain empty with a terrible door down all the time. Why does Charlie do this to our neighborhood?
It’s a shame that the space can’t get rented out as a gallery or something in the meantime. Maybe a host to popup restaurants?
Not only do I wish that Charlie would leave his doors up when closed, but I really wish something would go in at this space. It’s making that section of the street dull and lifeless.
I’ve heard it said that Charlie’s lease says he has to close to doors. I wonder if the neighbors could write to the building owner and ask them to change that. Steel doors make a neighborhood feel crime-filled.
Those rolling metal doors are the scourge of the neighborhood.
Agree. What can we do about it?
any truth to the rumors that Charlie’s has sold out of this location and his cafe? We see tons of cement coming out of the location but no building permit so it is hard to understand what is going on.
Charlie, $##t or get off the pot already. That rollup door has become blight at this stage. The neighborhood has no reason for blight in fall 2014, and you know that. Sell it to somebody else, or do the dang thing. If you care about the people who support your business, step it up. Enough is enough.
Let’s send Charlie a Frozen Video. Let it go…. Let it go…. It’s time big guy. You may need to take a loss but at least something can go in there.