SOHO — A little coffee shop on Sullivan Street will have to close if they can't get a license to serve beer and wine, the cafe's owner said.
Owner Michael Stern says his bakery and cafe, Once Upon A Tart at 135 Sullivan St., "cannot survive" if it doesn't start selling beer and wine after 5 p.m.
"I am 100 percent convinced that it cannot survive unless we can stay open later in the evenings," Stern told Community Board 2's liquor license committee last week. "No one wants to come after 5 p.m. if they can't get a glass of wine where there are so many other restaurants in the neighborhood."
But that's part of the problem: Some neighbors say the area is already saturated with watering holes.
Others showed up to support Stern, arguing that granting his little cafe a license isn't the same as licensing a new bar.
Danny Bellino, who lives a few blocks away, cited the recent loss of Caffe Dante as a reason to support Stern.
"We should be happy and proud of a place like Once Upon A Tart," Bellino said. "Otherwise we're going to end up with a yogurt shop or something like that."
Once Upon A Tart is split into two spaces divided by the hallway of a residential building. Stern's application was only for the smaller space on the north side, which he said is about 350 square feet total, with 275 square feet for patrons.
Stern said the space would have roughly 12 stools, and would operate as a coffee shop from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., then offer beer and wine from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays, and until 2 a.m. on weekends.
But neighbors objected to the 2 a.m. closing, and accused Stern of endangering the residential tenants by using the hallway as a means of egress between the two sides.
Locals said the neighborhood has gotten less safe on the whole, with increased wealth turning it into a target for thefts and break-ins.
Rebecca Cole, who lives on Thompson Street, said she feels less safe with vacant storefronts than with cafes and wine bars. She recalled being held up at gunpoint at her store on Bedford Street decades ago, and said it only became safe when restaurants started opening around her.
Sullivan Street resident Cindi Cericola agreed.
"I lived on this block when there was nothing here," Cericola said. "I do not want vacant buildings on this block, that's the danger."
"What increases our property values?" she added. "Charming places like the Tart."
Stern said he was told by some supportive tenants of the residential building that leaflets had been pushed under their doors, telling them to show up to oppose the application. The leaflets claimed that granting the license would bring noise and smokers to the sidewalk, and clog the street with taxi and limousine traffic dropping people off.
"It made me very upset," Stern said. "It wasn't talking about us. I don't know what it is talking about. It's just not what we're intending to do."
"My objective here to keep this place open," he added. "It isn't to make millions of dollars on alcohol."
CB 2's liquor license committee opted not to support the Tart's application, but did grant approval for a license application for a new business across the street at 142 Sullivan St., where the owner said he will sell juices and snacks during the day, and wine and beer at night.
Stern did not immediately respond to request comment about the board's denial. He can still apply to the State Liquor Authority without their support.
