Business & Tech
Lov A-Da Coffee to Close Shop, Relocate
Cuban Espresso Bar will close its doors at 2127 Cortez Rd. W. on Saturday but plans to open new locations at Bakery Di Europa on Manatee Avenue West and in Sarasota.
, a Cuban espresso bar with gourmet foods and pastries, will close its doors Saturday at 2127 Cortez Rd. W. and move in at on Manatee Ave West.
In its place, Florida-based Tex-Mex chain later this fall.
Lov A-Da, started by owner Mark Eman two years ago, was a 3,200-square-foot gathering place for business meetings, friends, families, students and couples.
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The lounge and study area closed Sunday.
“We started having a hard time doing good business,” Eman said.
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Eman said he is excited to be moving the same drink menu, along with an extended food menu, to at 6753 Manatee Ave. W. In addition to a full kitchen, Bakery Di Europa will have fresh-baked pastries. However, the new location, at about 1,200 square feet, will not have as much luxury seating as Lov A-Da's present location.
In about 30 days, Lov A-Da also has plans to add a Sarasota location in front of the Days Inn restaurant on Tamiami Trail, two blocks south of University Parkway, Eman said.
Eman said business at Lov A-Da was booming on Fridays and Saturdays, but unfortunately, the influx of high school and college-age customers who took their foods and beverages to the sidewalks led to calls to the police from neighboring business people.
Eman said Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputies told him the customers were disturbing the peace and Eman would be arrested if he could not control the late-night crowds.
One of the ways Eman tried to control them was by enacting weekend VIP memberships in the lounge and study area.
It worked.
“We went from 500 customers a night to 20,” Eman said.
Eman said there had been no reported fights, or other crimes, as a result of the sidewalk crowds.
"To (the deputies) it was a disturbance of the peace,” Eman said. “And I wanted to respect that.”
Eman placed a letter on Lov A-Da's Facebook page and at the coffee shop explaining the move. It was titled, “Sometimes looking forward requires not looking back.”
"DISLIKE," commented one Facebook fan, Jessica Noble.
"I look forward to checking out any location you open within driving distance," wrote another, Mike C. Northrup.
