We’ve traded a desk for a bike on Craigslist, but had no clue it was the go-to place for restaurateurs to pawn their new properties. We saw both Downtown’s Infusion Cafe and Crown Cafe take to Craigslist late last week in attempts to ditch downtown for even newer efforts; in Infusion’s case a coming baby, and in Crown’s case, “other projects” outside of L.A.
Downtown is still in the midst of a restaurant boom that seemed to get rolling before the worst of our country’s money ills came to light, making us wonder if these sales attempts precede future hysterical fleeing from the scene. Also, have traditional brokers already become so irrelevant or the market so weak that a brand new, successful business is resorting to a technology most people save for post-club booty calls?
According to David Shlomof, owner of Infusion, “Well, why not? I see a lot of different people everyday looking at Craigslist.”
Both cafes opened just this year and last we checked, Crown is a welcome addition to a part of downtown in need of cozier vibes, with the artwork and live music on display a big draw. Infusion’s menu of mostly vegetarian pastries, crepes, paninis, and cups of Illy have themselves been cheered on by the lunch-hour and condo crowd, leaving us scratching our heads at the $151,000 discount compared to Crown’s sale.
Interested parties must be intrigued by promises of brand new equipment attached to the deal and a somewhat established patronage already aware of the offerings and scene on site. We are somewhat interested ourselves in becoming part of Downtown’s explosion, but currently a little short of cash. Maybe if we pool together enough of our Ikea furniture and Betamax tapes, a trade could be considered?
