Tuesday, March 12, 2013

A good sign at the Native Bean?


Back in September 2011, a "for rent" sign went up above Native Bean at 50 Avenue A... Per the listing, it's a 10-year lease at $10,000 per month.

Well. Now 18 months later, workers have removed the "for rent" sign. (On March 1.)



And in its place last Thursday, a new Native Bean sign now greets passersby...



While the listing remains online, a tipster who frequents the cafe believes that they are staying put. Plus, as the tipster notes, the Native Bean has just added new menu items, such as a grilled chicken sandwich and caramel apples(!). Plus! They just installed a small aquarium.

We haven't heard any official confirmation. Ali, the owner, is currently away.

9 comments:

Spike said...

Nice. I really like these guys. Always smiling and happy to be there. Maybe not the best spellers in town, but that adds to the charm.

DrGecko said...

So they're going to offer sushi?

glamma said...

NICE! I am so happy to hear this, would have been such a tremendous loss to the community. Such a magical place and they are the nicest guys working on Ave A, really! Amazing food, ambience, good prices, I could go on and on. Went in last sunday around 4:30, soft jazz playing, warm & toasty, airy yet cozy, calm & quiet and not a seat in the house! Didn't mind at all because i was glad to see them doing such good business. i just took my laptop over to cafe pick me up, also packed and also such a wonderful place. we are lucky to have them both!

Matt said...

$10K? That seems nuts for a fairly desolate stretch of Avenue A that's seen many businesses fail. Is that typical for the area, or is this another greedy building owner hoping to land a bank branch or a 7-11?

Sammy said...

Nicest guys imaginable run own and work at that cafe. A holdover from how thw neighborhood used to be.

Anonymous said...

@matt

i was actually surprised at how cheap it is, for the area.

Matt said...

You have to sell a lot of bagels to come up with $10K. And they're pretty damn good bagels, but still... How long before Ave. A becomes Upper Bleecker Street at this rate? Well, glad to hear that Native Bean's safe for now, anyway.

Fipper said...

Their lox cream cheese spread is yummy!

Anonymous said...

Actually $10K is not that much at all...In fact that is very very INexpensive...I think it would have been more like $15k. My guess as to what happened...Lease expired or was close to expiring. Tenant wouldnt pay $10/15K per month..Landlord made an offer for him to stay in space until he got someone to pay the $10/1k...Nobody offered landlord the $10/15k so the original tenant and landlord agreed on a new lease. Just a guess.