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:

  1. 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.

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  2. So they're going to offer sushi?

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  3. 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!

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  4. $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?

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

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  6. @matt

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

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  7. 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.

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  8. Their lox cream cheese spread is yummy!

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  9. 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.

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