George Loren, owner of the four-decade-old restaurant, Koffee Kart, moved cardboard boxes of paper cups and restaurant materials out of storage behind the vacant restaurant in downtown Manhattan Beach last week.
“The awning’s going to get scrapped for sure,” he said, of the five-year-old, black-and-yellow, custom-made awning that used to greet customers, reading in capital letters, “breakfast & lunch.” Under the awning, a new sign was posted in the window. “The Kart’s getting a new set of wheels!” it read.
When an arson-related fire blazed the building, 1104 Highland Ave., in February, the businesses and offices inside were put temporarily out of commission. While some tenants found other spaces to lease, others were waiting for the building to be refurbished. Loren figured that in a matter of months, he’d open back up again.
“In the beginning, we had said to everybody, ‘Hey, we’re going to refurbish the building, you can all come back in,’” said Ken Ziegler, manager and part-owner of the building. “But that’s not the way it went.”
Instead, most of the leases automatically terminated, under a lease provision for fires. But that provision did not apply to Loren’s lease.
Loren still had a short time left on his lease, but Ziegler had made it clear his lease would not be renewed, Loren said.
“I wish he had been able to come back in the building,” Ziegler said of Loren. “But because of this particular tenant wanting to take over the whole building, how often do you see that?”
Dealer.com, an automotive online marketing firm headquartered in Vermont, will lease the building where the Koffee Kart, a massage parlor, a dentist’s office and handful of other offices once sat. The company currently occupies office space in the building next door.
“I was hoping to move back in,” said Keith Robinson, Easy Reader cartoonist and owner of Intellivision Productions. “It’s right downtown and I live a block away.” Up until now, Robinson had leased a space in the building for about eight years. He found out about a month ago that he would have to move out, he said.
Dealer.com was not available for comment at press time.
City code allows for another restaurant to open in the Koffee Kart location. But if the location is not used as a restaurant within a year, a new restaurant operator would be required to have a public hearing and obtain a new use permit from the city, according to Richard Thompson, the city’s director of community development.
Dealer.com is planning to renovate and lease the building for multiple years, Ziegler said.
Loren said he spent $80,000 on reopening costs, including designing and building new booths and countertops for the restaurant as well as purchasing a new computer system. Depending on where he moves, he may or may not be able to use the new materials.
With his business loss insurance, Loren has continued to pay his employees since the fire and will continue to do so until he reopens, he said. Loren’s employees are frustrated because while they are still getting paid, they’re not able to collect tips, he said.
While he doesn’t yet have a new location, Loren plans to keep the Koffee Kart in downtown Manhattan Beach. “We’ll be patient to find a spot and we’ll keep waiting,” he said. “It wouldn’t make sense to go anywhere else.”
When asked to speak to Loren’s customers about the move, Loren thought for a second and then hopped onto the sidewalk in front of his former restaurant. He looked around and spotted a man in shorts on the sidewalk across the street.
“Hey Rich!” Loren called out.
Richard Rusth, a 55-year Manhattan Beach resident, immediately crossed the street and Loren broke the news.
“This is the only place I would be willing to sit and wait to have food,” Rusth said, noting that his favorite meal was the cheddar bacon waffle. “When I come here, I get a little peace and quiet, and people say, ‘Good morning, Richard,’ and I have a nice breakfast before I go about my day. It’s going to be sorely missed.”
