HYDE PARK — Cafe 57 closed suddenly July 5 with only the briefest of notices to the landlord.
“The owners of Cafe 57 sent our real estate office a text message saying it would be closing,” said Meg Reile, a spokeswoman for Metra, which owns the storefront at 1520 E. 57th St. under the 57th Street train stop.
Reile said the owners, Mohamed Murtha and Danny Morales, have a lease on the property through 2018.
Neither Murtha nor Morales could be reached for comment.
On Monday, the cafe looked like the barista had only stepped away for a moment. Jars on the counter were still full of biscotti and coffee beans waited in a grinder behind the counter.
Reile said Metra was unaware of the reasons for the sudden closure, and was hoping to keep a tenant in the storefront.
“We’d always like to see the space rented, it helps us and the neighborhood to have the space rented,” Reile said.
Multiple coffee shops have occupied the storefront in recent years; all closed citing a difficulty making a profit.
"In two years, we were never profitable," Tony Wilkins said in 2013 when he sold the cafe to Murtha and Morales.
Wilkins bought the business in 2010 from Istria Cafe, which closed after five years because of difficulties turning a profit.
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