Tien NguyenAfter opening 14 years ago on a then-relatively empty strip along Rowena Avenue in Silver Lake, the colorful The Coffee Table served its last cup of coffee this past Sunday. The cafe was a popular meeting spot for neighborhood residents, who now will have to look elsewhere for their cup of joe.
The Coffee Table's lease was over, owners Mike Zamarripa and Brett Schoenhals explain. According to both, Fifteen Group, a “real estate-focused private investment firm” out of Miami, recently bought The Coffee Table's building and declined to extend or renew the cafe's lease. Despite the seemingly short notice – The Coffee Table was showing off a new menu as recently as August 1 – Zamarripa and Schoenhals note that any issues relating to their lease were amicably resolved. Neither knows what the developer will do with the space. “No one's told us anything,” Zamarripa says.
On Tuesday morning, the café sold some of its furniture to the public, including its signature mosaic-tiled tables. By 10:30 a.m., most of the pieces were sold. A few longtime customers lingered behind to wander the gutted space, share memories, and snap one last photo.
Zamarripa hopes to transfer at least a few employees over to the shop's second location in Eagle Rock, which will remain open. He also would like to open another shop in Silver Lake sometime in the future, though exactly when and where is up in the air. “I'm not sure yet,” he said. “For now, this is just really sad.”
Inside The Coffee Table, after a sale of its furniture.; Credit: T. Nguyen
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.