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After 11 years on Austin's East Side, the consummate cool Café Mundi will be shutting its doors on March 21st.
Using their Facebook page earlier this month, the café's owners Jessica Nieri and Hans Dietrich announced the decision to close down saying, "We do not see this as an end, but as a new beginning."
According to Sarah Mattson, an employee at Café Mundi, the decision came after lease negotiations between the restaurant and the landlord failed. "It came as a total surprise," says Mattson. "Everyone is just so sad. (Customers) are telling me about how they met their wives here and how their kids would have never been born if we hadn't opened."
For Heather Coffey -- who has been coming to Café Mundi for over a decade -- the restaurant isn't just a place to grab a cup of coffee, it's an institution, "It's a beautiful place. It defines this corner. It defines this street."
Café Mundi is hoping to re-open in a new location as soon as possible. "(The owners) are actively looking for a new lease," explains Mattson. "Hopefully we'll stay on the East Side."
Café Mundi will remain open through SXSW where, according to Mattson, "there will be some big parties." It will also give a chance for customers to come and say goodbye to the place they love. But while it may no longer be at 1704 E. 5th St., customers agree: Wherever Mundi goeth, they shall go. "Jessica (Nieri, the owner) is wonderful. Everyone who works here is great," says Coffey. "Wherever they go, we will follow." Fellow Mundi patron Tamara Toon agrees, "It can't be an if; they have to reopen."
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Their Facebook page seems to have been deleted. Have to wonder if the "we'll be back" is genuine or just something you say so the departure doesn't seem like such a big deal to people. Are the employees being laid off or furloughed until the "new location" opens?
I wish them well in whatever they plan for their future, but the whole "actively" seeking a new lease thing doesn't exactly jibe with the large amount of vacant commercial space on the east side, or the down economy. Sounds to me like they're getting out.
The east side is still underserved in the cafe/coffee offerings. Absent Mundi that leaves Progress, Rio Rita and the mornings-only Trailer Perk. And there is no option at all below 5th, despite the highly dense area (South of 4th, between Waller and Pedernales).
You forgot about Bennu, Cherrywood and Hot Mama's.
Hot Mama's:I'll give you that one but IMO it's not in the same class as Progress/Rita/Mundi. Plus it randomly shuts down for weeks at a time without explanation.
Bennu, Cherrywood: I don't consider locations that far north to be part of the same neighborhood (call it Lower East Austin if you like). For those of us that live in the E Cesar Chavez area it is much closer to go to Jo's Downtown than to Cherrywood or Bennu.
I'll say it again, [lower] east austin is still underserved in terms of coffee/cafes.
The Cafe Mundi owners are being too diplomatic in their statements - Cap Metro is investing in the land and jacking up the rent to force them out.
Yeah, it's a shame. Mundi was a pioneering force in eastside renewal and community building. It will be interesting to see what happens to that space. I'm hedging my bets on an upscale design-oriented wine bar or another boutique with an inscrutable one word name. Hopefully they will re-open somewhere else.
@Whoo: Where did you get this info about Cap Metro owning the property that Cafe Mundi sits on?