Well, this is a shame

Ada’s Kitchen & Coffee in Riverside is shutting down due to landlord’s rent increase

[Owner/chef Michael Pietrafeso] said, “Unfortunately, our landlord proposed an extremely high increase in our annual rent, an increase that is well over market and would not allow me to sustain my business going forward. Through months of negotiation and my attempts to get to a reasonable place with them, we were unable to come to an agreement.”

It’s a property owner’s right to attempt to charge what he likes for rent, but I wonder at the wisdom of doing so in this case. Ada’s has been very popular since it reopened in its current configuration, and its replacement is going to have to attract far more business than this one has if it’s to pay substantially more rent. If Mr. Pietrafeso’s claim that the new proposed rent “is well over market” is correct, then the building will sit empty earning no income. Of course, the landlord may have the more accurate assessment of the market, and he’ll do fine; I’ve seen both scenarios over the years.

Still, losing Ada’s will be a great loss to the neighborhood, and it will be “interesting” to see what, if anything, replaces it.