StreetLevel: At the Lyceum, Coffee But no Klatsch
There hasn’t been much buzz about El Cafetin, the coffee shop at the Brooklyn Lyceum, despite the fact that it’s been open for a few months now. The café traffics in a standard assortment of brews, espresso drinks, and snacks, and it’s outfitted with a ragtag assortment of furniture (see photo on jump). Even though…
There hasn’t been much buzz about El Cafetin, the coffee shop at the Brooklyn Lyceum, despite the fact that it’s been open for a few months now. The café traffics in a standard assortment of brews, espresso drinks, and snacks, and it’s outfitted with a ragtag assortment of furniture (see photo on jump). Even though the space gets great natural light and has free wi-fi, it’s often deserted after the morning crush—surprising for a stretch with a not-so-small army of freelancers and very few coffee shop options. El Cafetin’s owner says he’s looking to raise the business’s profile by offering to-be-determined classes in the coming months. Think that’s the jolt this java joint needs? GMAP
i live right around the corner and had no idea this place was there. maybe do a little advertising?!
LOL if you know the owner at all he is anti advertising
Well, guess that pretty much means El Cafetin IS NOT looking to raise its profile and attract a larger customer base. See, this is the perfect example of why so many “small” and “independent” businesses don’t survive. That, and the ‘tude. Plus, it also seems Lyceum mgmt is saying it NEEDS and uses the space taken up by the coffee shop for its own purposes on off-hours, and that’s why the decor and atmosphere of the cafe must suffer. You can’t have it both ways. Starbucks here I come…
Y’know as someone who has been to the Lyceum, I think you are being pretty defensive. The original post gave the impression that the cafe owner was looking for feedback. So people pointed out that it was unclear that there was a coffeehouse open during the day. You took the opportunity to imply that people were dumb or something. I don’t care what team you root for, but why insult potential customers?
GO SOX? F-You Me Too. Go back to that backwater.
Why would the management of the Lyceum advertise that they are Sox fans? Aren’t you trying to ingratiate yourself with the community? I now hate the Lyceum. The SOX??? F-You!
A word or two from the lyceum management…
Thanx for the info on public perception. A few notes tho…
The cafe proprietor understands the traffic flow. Large volumes of traffic 7am-11am. Very little afterwards. He is aware that the significant income to be made is from the mornings and from events. Thus the hours(for now).
The lyceum is an old bathhouse that became a gym that is now part theater/part gym. That begets some very odd activity patterns.
It also requires that the whole facility get reworked for large shows and weddings and festivals. That pretty much precludes dressing it up as the tea lounge.
I find it odd that the variety of activity bothered one commenter. We are proud of the activities. Movies, batting cages, operas, jazz, weddings, etc.
We have found that no amount of advertising will shake the passerbys out of their bee-line to the subway. Those people probably don’t know or care that we have an opera with a full orchestra. They probably didn’t see Amanda Palmer, Jose Gonzalez, Fiona Apple, Polyphonic Spree and Yo la Tengo. They probably wern’t among the 1000+ who took tours of the building for Open House New York. They probably will miss the Wiyos record release show and the Klezmatics in November. They will probably miss Citizen Kane on friday and college football games on Saturdays.
I think you really have to work at it to pass by every day and ignore banners on the building(Batting Cage, Fidelio, New Yorker Festival, Philly Transit Authority).
We all cant have the marketing budget of the BAM.
To those of you who can slow down a moment and say hi, love to meet you. To the others….???
Sincerely,
The Brooklyn Lyceum Management
GO SOX!!
mr. coffee shop owner. 1. go to bed bath and beyoond and buy those cute cushiony things you can tie to hard uncomfortable chairs… and seriously, put on the sign what the heck you do! i walk by there as well… had no idea what it was
Have they gotten the bird crap off the steps yet?
It doesn’t take much imagination to see the potential of this place. Money must be the issue.