More on the closing of Continuum Coffee and Continuum Cycles

As we reported earlier this month, Continuum Cycles and Continuum Coffee have closed on Avenue B. We caught up with Continuum owner Jeff Underwood for more about what happened.

The coffee shop opened shortly before Sandy hit last October, and Underwood had a difficult time recovering from the storm damage. (An unresponsive landlord apparently didn't help.)

"I had taken all of my funds and put it into the cafe last year. Not only did our whole basement flood with sewage and salt water, destroying my stock for the cafe and bike shop, we also didn't have phone service or stable Internet service for over three months," he said via email. "This kept us from running credit cards, which is 80 percent of our sales."

Business lagged post-Sandy, and he wasn't able to get ahead of the mounting bills as the year continued.

For now, Underwood said that he plans to regroup over the coming months, with the expectation of reopening a shop somewhere in the neighborhood in the spring.

"I'm actually very excited about taking the winter off to look for the perfect space. I also do dog rescue and training, which I love, so this will give me time to take on more clients and work with more dogs in need," he said. "As for bicycles, I will still take on clients, but obviously at a smaller scale. My goal is to revamp my website for e-commerce, so that we can reach more folks.

"It has been a bittersweet couple of weeks. Closing was a bit hard but the love that people are showing is blowing us away."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Out and About in the East Village with Jeff Underwood

Reader photo from Nov. 17

Continuum Coffee has closed... for now

Flyers went up around the neighborhood last Tuesday asking for support for Continuum Cycles and Continuum Coffee on Avenue B... There was talk of a fundraiser Saturday, though that didn't happen. Per the Save Continuum page on Facebook Saturday:

Hi everyone. I wanted to say thank you for all of the support you have given us in the past few days. I regret to inform you that the coffee shop was shut down yesterday, by the fuckin' man. Needless to say there won't be an event tonight. I'm sorry for the last minute cancellation. We did all we could.

Continuum Cycles next door will close in the days ahead as well.

In a tweet from Friday, owner Jeff Underwood wrote:

I am sad to say that today was our last day; I am going to regroup over the winter and reopen at a new location. Continuum, a bicycle shop will also be closing shortly. I will stil take on some clients and work on their bikes. Continuum Cycles is still happening. Our team is growing strong. If you want a frame, they are still available. Aluminum frames are limited but we are fully stocked with our Italian hand built steel frames. A new site is in the works so you can purchase them online.

Continuum Coffee had the misfortune of opening a few weeks before Hurricane Sandy. They were never able to recover, especially in the following weeks without Internet or phone service. It was a cool spot, and we liked what they were doing there. Hopefully they can find a new home in the neighborhood.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Out and About in the East Village with Jeff Underwood

Here are the new bike corrals outside Continuum Cycles on Avenue B

Thanks to @chufucious for passing along this photo showing the brand-new bike corrals in front of Continuum Cycles (and Continuum Coffee) on Avenue B near East 12th Street...

Here's a photo of the DOT installing them yesterday via @nixta ...



Back in December, we noted that CB3 OK'd bike corrals (CityRacks!) for the 4th Street Food Co-op and Continuum Cycles.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Here's your new East Ninth Street bike rack (18 comments)

More bike corrals on the way for East Village businesses

Continuum Coffee now open on Avenue B

About a year ago we heard that Continuum Cycles on Avenue B was going to open a coffee shop... and we promptly forgot about it.

Here was owner Jeff Underwood writing about it last October on the Continuum blog:

We will have vegan treats too. Movie nights, bicycle art, books, clothing and tubes, patches, lights, pumps and much more until late night. Also remember, we are open for everyone. Cyclist or not.

Anyway, Continuum Coffee opened Wednesday adjacent to the shop between East 12th Street and 13th Street...

[Via @ContinuumCoffee]

They have oatmeal and vegan muffins and stuff... and they'll be screening horror movies every Friday and Saturday this month... and bike-themed films on Sunday...