roosevelt lofts bringing back indie coffee shop
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Don’t expect Lot 44 quality brews (or even Primos’ for that matter), but the folks at the soon-to-open Roosevelt Lofts have disclosed Marie’s Coffee Shop — one of the building’s original, pre-conversion retailers — is returning for a second chance at life on the 7th Street strip.
A couple years ago, Marie’s catered to a quick-lunch crowd, dishing out run-of-the-mill deli sandwiches, salads, soups, pastries, smoothies and coffees when food expectations were the same for every no-name cafe in the Financial District.
Today, with Restaurant Row attracting gourmet players alongside recognizable names like Wokcano and Maria’s Italian Kitchen, the ordinary coffee shop will need to consider a reinvention plan to keep pace in more competitive market. California Roll & Sushi, the only other previous-generation tenant expected to return to the Roosevelt, is doing just that.
Let’s hope upon her return Marie’s Coffee Shop will surprise us all — a worthy alternative to Coffee Bean and Starbucks on this side of Olive is long overdue. The City Bean stall inside Macy’s Plaza sells great coffee, but doesn’t offer the cafe experience.
10 comments
never tried Marias coffe spot, but I know when I go back to visit LA in October I’m definitely gonna stop by Big Momma & Papas Pizza shop fresh off the plane, then I may just pay a visit to Marias across the street.
That’s so funny, a bunch of my work buddies and I were just saying how we missed Maries. They weren’t fancy but had good sandwiches and fresh fruit and the prices were good. When the owner told us they were closing temporarily for the construction, he said it would only be for a few months. That was like almost 3 years ago!
Say what you will about Marie’s. This was the only place for years where I could find an inexpensive salad that had mixed greens (instead of iceberg lettuce) and sandwiches made with rye bread (instead of white) within 5 blocks of work. Plus it felt good to give your money to a Mom-and-Pop instead of the ubiquitous Man.
Can’t wait for its return!
Sounds interesting - at first I was worried Marie’s was just a coffee shop, and I know we don’t need any more of those downtown. But it sounds like a great little place.
Let’s hope that Marie’s DOES keep the old format, because there aren’t enough lower-end, blue-collar type places to eat. My mortgage & HOAs suck 2/3 of my take-home pay and I can only eat at IHOP, Dennys and The Pantry so much—and even The Pantry ain’t that cheap. For those younglings who think Starbucks & Coffee Bean are coffee shops—just a little correction, those are coffee HOUSES, at least in the U.S. A coffee shop is a restaurant with food, it’s just that the staple is the never-ending pot of coffee. Think diner. Denny’s, IHOP, Howard Johnson’s, remember Sambo’s? Flying J’s, Norm’s, Ships, Panns, Johnnie’s, Bob’s Big Boy—these are the coffee shops of yesteryear and the boonies. Ah, the good ol’ days. (I’m only 44—jeez!)
p.s. I forgot Tiny Naylor’s and Van De Kamp’s, old coffee shop chains.
Well, let’s hope that Marie’s DOESN’T serve up the moldy pie crust I accidently swallowed years ago at Tiny Naylor’s. There I was, trying to sample some pie and Googie Architecture before they tore the place down and they’re trying to poison me.
I wonder why they didn’t bring back La Salsa. When I lived in the building back in the last century with a couple other artists and the LAPD SWAT team - how time flies! - it was my main dining place.
There’s a Qdoba right there and a La Salsa a few blocks north, so I don’t think a La Salsa would go there.
Any update on Marie’s?
I go to the new Marie’s about once a week. Their sandwiches are good, but their tuna salad salad is perfection! It’s 2 scoops of tuna over a bed of mixed greens with plenty of cut veggies (carrots, celery and tomatoes) and it’s topped off with a fresh herb enfused balsamic vinegar dressing. And, for the carb lovers, it comes with bread.