What's Up With The Mercury Coffee Bar?

**1KielsonDrive** · May-17-09, 09:43 PM

What's happening at the Mercury Coffee Bar? Will it be used for something else? Will it be sold? Is the partnership dissolved? Will something take it's place by the Slow's people? Give me the latest scoops.

Ravine · May-17-09, 09:57 PM

Gosh, you're saying that it has closed?

I guess that glorious view of the breathtaking and hauntingly beautiful old train station wasn't such a draw, long-term. Huh!

Hhmm. Maybe they should tear down the train station, after all. Alas; no love for an unsalvageable, wretchedly fucked-up monstrosity of a building's shell.

**1KielsonDrive** · May-17-09, 10:30 PM

R, you're too funny.

**East Detroit** · May-17-09, 11:16 PM

Eph McNally's?

**rooms222** · May-18-09, 06:44 AM

Slow's Other Place?

**East Detroit** · May-18-09, 07:19 AM

McDonalds?

**HazenPingree** · May-18-09, 07:58 AM

It will reopen... The question is just when and as what. Whatever it turns into, I have faith that it will happen and will be classy.

dexterferry · May-18-09, 08:37 AM

be careful with the speculation, andylinn. unless you really know inside information, any talk about one of the partners retaining some interest could be harmful to an overall resolution of their existing conflict. from what I have heard, mr. cooley has a very minimal stake in the venture. don't add fuel to the existing partners' concerns about anyone "taking over" with baseless speculation.

**Alley** · May-18-09, 09:08 AM

god, that place lasted 5 minutes!

dexterferry · May-18-09, 10:12 AM

the quick fall of the MCB has absolutely nothing to do with the economy or with a lack of interest or support for such an enterprise in the city of Detroit.

it failed because of certain [[unnecessary) preopening costs and too many owners with unrealistic expectations. the business never stood a chance.

**chitaku** · May-18-09, 10:33 AM

if you want to back up that argument, look inside the window of the MCB and see all the crap just piled up. That's all wasted money. The owners had absolutely no clue. I wonder what's going to happen with the 10,000 dollar staircase? [[ I think it was 10-30,000 but can't remember which?)

gravitymachine · May-18-09, 10:53 AM

the folks contratcted to do some of the buildout, including the stairs, are fantastic craftsmen, based in the city, so lets be sure not rake them over the coals because of the owner's business decision to go ahead with the projects, eh? quality craftsmanship and design cost money

dexterferry · May-18-09, 11:23 AM

what about andrew zago's rumored six figure fee?

there was nothing wrong with the prices at MCB. sure, a bunch of whiny cheap deeply-entrenched Detroiters didn't like the $7 sandwiches, but those whiners were well outnumbered by the people lining up for $7 sandwiches and slow coffees. There was a market here for high-quality coffee and delicious, healthy fare and it was briefly met by the MCB.

People need to stop repeating the falsehood that it was prices or lack of business that forced closure of the MCB. It was just a case of too many owners in the back office, and too many expensive projects before the place opened.

**EastsideAl** · May-18-09, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by dexterferry

People need to stop repeating the falsehood that it was prices or lack of business that forced closure of the MCB. It was just a case of too many owners in the back office, and too many expensive projects before the place opened.

Perhaps, but if they had been able to do more business, and/or been able to lower their prices, perhaps they could've survived their overspending and undercapitalization better. But it really did seem like a bad mixture of inexperience, very unrealistic expectations, not anywhere near enough capital, and far too much ego.

**professorscott** · May-18-09, 12:17 PM

Most restaurants open after being undercapitalized in the first place and spending too much money pre-opening, and that's the main reason most restaurants fail and end up changing owners. The second owner, if he gets the place cheap enough, often is able to succeed; and if not, there's always a third owner waiting in the wings. This happens so often it's the norm in that business. [[Prof was in the restaurant biz once.)

**PSewick** · May-18-09, 01:45 PM

With all of that valuable equipment in there doing nothing, I just can't believe that they won't simply pay someone $11 an hour to operate the espresso machine and at least keep the place open. How could locking the doors and turning out the lights be the better option?

**professorscott** · May-18-09, 02:36 PM

You can't just pay someone $11 an hour. No restaurant would close if all you had to pay was for the help and the food and drink ingredients. You need to pay rent, taxes, heat, lights, insurance, cleaning, pest control, license fees, pay for the cash register, decor, maintenance. Collectively restaurant folks refer to all that crap as the "fixed nut", and if you can't make the fixed nut, you can't stay in business.

**Parkguy** · May-18-09, 04:35 PM

I was perfectly willing to buy one of their $7 sandwich once in a while. The food was great. The coffee was great.

**penelope** · May-18-09, 10:00 PM

The same thing that happened to mercury coffee bar happened to asian village. And each time people I know lost jobs. I think asian village turned into a club/party place, maybe mcb should just turn into some seedy after hours joint. Those seem to do well in detroit.

**PSewick** · May-19-09, 08:04 AM

Originally Posted by professorscott

You can't just pay someone $11 an hour. No restaurant would close if all you had to pay was for the help and the food and drink ingredients. You need to pay rent, taxes, heat, lights, insurance, cleaning, pest control, license fees, pay for the cash register, decor, maintenance. Collectively restaurant folks refer to all that crap as the "fixed nut", and if you can't make the fixed nut, you can't stay in business.

Since they're occupying the building, they're already paying for the rent, taxes, maintenance and insurance anyway. And the cash register and decor have already been bought and are just sitting there. That's my point. With all of those expensive things just sitting there, how could it possibly not be worth it to at least just turn on the effin' coffeemaker?

**professorscott** · May-19-09, 09:12 AM

Psewick, just as a guess, I'm going to surmise that they in fact are not paying the rent etc. If someone knows for certain differently, let us know.

Usually when a single-unit location dies, there's a certain rhythm to the death. First stop paying rent, since it takes quite a while to evict somebody. If you have loans out, which you almost certainly do, stop paying them. If you're a risk-taker, stop paying taxes and insurance. Start paying your suppliers 45 days instead of 30, then 60 instead of 45, then 90. You can keep limping as long as your suppliers will deliver and you can pay your employees. Stop doing any maintenance whatever. Finally, when you realize you won't be able to make next week's payroll, or when Sysco calls you and apologizes that all deliveries will be COD from now on, you put a sign in the window and lock the doors.

There are variations on this opera, but that's the essence of how it rolls out. It happens with astonishing regularity.

**EastsideAl** · May-19-09, 12:49 PM

Yes, you really can't blame the failure to sell expensive sandwiches on cheap whiners in the poorest and most unemployed major city in America.

**chitaku** · May-19-09, 02:39 PM

the cheapest sandwich on the menu was 7 dollars which is nuts. They just had to grand of plans for what they were doing. They told us we were going to get benefits for god sake,!What coffee shop can give their cooks benefits!

**MikeM** · May-19-09, 02:54 PM

$7 for a sandwich? You know what's nuts? How cheap Detroiters are. In the long run they'll be happy they went out of business instead of listening to this kind of whining.

**annalouise** · May-19-09, 03:01 PM

People are plenty willing to spend $7 [[or more) for a sandwich in Corktown. Mudgie's is doing good business with their $8-$10 sandwiches. Le Petit Zinc has $4-$8 crepes/croisssants and they did such good business their first weekend that they ran out of food. Slows sandwiches are around $10 and they are crowded all the time.
Cass Cafe, Eph McNally's, Russel Street Deli all charge at least $7 for a sandwich and are doing well.
The problem is that no one was going to pay $7 for a crappy sandwich with tiny slivers of meat on a equally tiny piece of toast.