David Lynch, who owns and operates one of the most thriving storefronts in downtown San Pedro, wasn’t having one of his better days on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
He’d just received news that he’d have to move the 30-year-old popular coffee house and hangout from its spot on Sixth Street by April 11 to make way for needed plumbing and other work connected to the major renovation of the historic Warner Grand Theatre. The coffee house and theater are in the same structure.
“I thought we’d be good until the end of the year so this is kind of sudden,” said Lynch, who moved into the spot in 2005 when an earlier location on Mesa Street in the downtown was forced to move. “I’ll do my best to keep it going.”
But that will require some quick and innovative planning with no guarantee he’ll be chosen by Los Angeles to move back in to run a planned new “cafe” space that will replace the current home in the same spot. The new location will be put out to bid by the city, which owns the building.
The moving date was accelerated when the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs, which oversees the contractors, said workers would need access in 60 days to do extensive plumbing work, requiring the walls between the theater and coffee house to be opened up, said Los Angeles Councilmember Tim McOsker.
Notice was given to Sacred Grounds, 468 W. Sixth St., on Tuesday.
Lynch, in an interview last year, said relocating even temporarily would be complicated and costly.
McOsker is urging Lynch to put in a bid once the location is ready for permanent occupancy again — saying the business has a “great brand name and is well known.” McOsker also said he has instructed the city to help relocate the business with a “rapid response team.”
“Sacred Grounds has been a special part of downtown San Pedro for many years,” McOsker said, “serving as a gathering place for so many in the Harbor Area.”
The work requiring the move, he added, “is unavoidable to allow the project to move forward and ensure the completion of the much-needed renovations.”
Eric Eisenberg, a property owner in downtown San Pedro and member of the Property Owners Business Improvement District, said Sacred Grounds is “beyond a hangout” and should not be lost.
“It’s a community asset,” he said, “from the morning coffee club that gathers at 6:30 a.m. to folks who stay late when it’s the only thing open on Sixth Street.”
Eisenberg and Elise Swanson, CEO of the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, were among those on Tuesday who said they’d pitch in to help find a solution.
The Warner Grand is expected to be shuttered for two years for needed renovations, which will include an elevator and other disability access, restroom upgrades, a new guest lounge and terrace space on the mezzanine, and heating, air-conditioning, lighting and fire system upgrades.
The concession service will also be expanded and some historic rehabilitation included.
Lynch said he’s managed to make the location work for Sacred Grounds, which often draws folks with laptops and those who just want to hang out either at the tables inside or those set up outside to connect with others.
Lynch has also provided concessions for the theater next door and does extensive catering for Los Angeles Harbor College to make it all work as a successful business.
It’s also received some financial support from film crews who want to film on the street, Lynch said.
And the coffee house, whose employees are well known and loved, serves a free Christmas dinner every year, Eisenberg said.
An online petition has gathered more than 3,000 signatures asking that the business stay in that location.
“We’d like to do everything we can to help Sacred Grounds locate to a new location that meets their needs,” Swanson said. “They’re a part of this community.”
A couple of years ago, Lynch said, he wanted to remodel the coffee house, but the city approvals didn’t come through.
Now, he faces a sudden move-out.
Possibilities for a temporary space could be an existing building or a mobile coffee cart, Eisenberg said.
By early morning, Eisenberg said, people can be found gathering who “call that their social circle. It’s a huge loss.”
The business also is a rarity in San Pedro in that it makes and serves fresh-ground coffee.
“They roast all their own coffee,” Eisenberg said, noting the business also serves fresh sandwiches and other food. “Where else are you going to go and get fresh-roasted coffee for $7 a cup?”
McOsker said he’s directed the city’s Economic and Workforce Development Department “to assist the business and employees” in finding an interim location.