Seattle-based Caffe Vita has permanently closed its lone Los Angeles storefront in Los Feliz, at 4459 Sunset Blvd, after months of negotiations, the company recently announced on its social media. Its last day was August 28.
“After facing a shocking and unexpected increase in our rent, we have made the heart-wrenching decision to close our cafe in Los Angeles on August 28,” Caffe Vita wrote on Facebook last week.
“We spent months trying to negotiate our lease renewal in efforts to keep our doors open and our incredible baristas employed. However, we were ultimately forced to make the heart-wrenching decision to close our beloved Silverlake location. Words can’t describe how agonizing this loss is for us. We hope to open another cafe in Los Angeles in the future, but for now, we will miss our inspiring community of artists, screenwriters, and actors who spent countless hours with us on Sunset Boulevard.”
Ivan Charles Morley, a rep for the property that houses the coffee shop, on Tuesday told What Now Los Angeles Caffe Vita was a sublet from Rudy’s Barbershop and that the rent increase was from about a year and a half ago.
“When COVID struck, we provided generous rent abatement (from very little to none), but both businesses remained closed since around March,” Morley said. “Rent was not increased in the last year, we offered very generous terms to [Caffe Vita], and they declined, even at the rate they offered. Incidentally, they also closed many locations in the Seattle area due to COVID. The rent amount they offered would be absolutely unsustainable.”
Caffe Vita opened its Los Feliz space in February 2013. It has remaining outposts in Seattle, New York, and Portland.
[Editor’s note: this article was updated with comments from Morley on Tuesday.]
Los Feliz, not Silver Lake.
Bet a Chipotle opens up in that space (shudder)