Little Cafe Singing the Blues
Posted by sanleandrotimes on February 28, 2008
If Mark Tichy wins in his bid for the City Council he’s not going to fit right in. And that’s just fine with him. Tichy doesn’t agree with the way the current City Council is running things. He says the city government is hostile to the small business person and has sold out to big business. For an example, he points to his own small business, a little bungalow of a cafe in the parking lot of Palma Plaza on East 14th Street, called Chicago Blues Cafe. ….Read more
February 28, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Welcome to San Leandro! The bureaucrats are ridiculous~ they go out of their way to make small businesses fail~ and the sad part is that the people in those positions don’[t even live in San LEandro~ there used to be a rule~ and not that far bacK~ that to work in CIty office you had to live there~
I am so sorry for you Mark~ keep fighting~ and by the way~ if they are going to “enforce”{ rules on you~ then drive around and send them pics of all the other businesses~
February 29, 2008 at 6:35 am
It really makes me angry when a Starbucks can open on every corner at the drop of a hat..yet a small business owner serving up something unique & very much wanted in the Bay area can’t get a break. Yes..there are alot of ex-Chicagoans living around here…me being one of them & very much wanting what this place is offering. Go to Chowhound.com & see for yourself. We ex-Chicagoans are starving for a place like this. Someone actually came from Burlingame to eat there! The city should start encouraging small business owners to come here & offer up something besides corporate crap like McD’s or Starbuck’s. San Leandro is a culinary wasteland(there are a few exceptions) because the city only encourages or wants the big corporate dollar. Why would anyone want to visit San Leandro if all we have are Starbucks, Chili’s & Jack in the Box? They can get that anywhere. It’s time to start making the food as unique as the people who live here.
February 29, 2008 at 8:14 am
I drove over from the peninsula to meet my friend from San Francisco here, specifically to get some Chicago-style food. Obviously, places need to be regulated, but it seems like the city of San Leandro would like to look like every other town. I hope this isn’t the case.
March 3, 2008 at 1:08 am
It’s probably because Tichy has run for office and “dissed” the almighty Santos and corrupt Maltester-worshipping bunch. San Leandro has one of the most corrupt, good-ole boy town governments I’ve ever seen. And no question, they’re running this town into the ground.
May 2, 2008 at 10:32 pm
San Leandro used to be a nice place to raise a family until it sold out . . . San Leandro should support independent entrepreneurs who give it a go here. Given the rise in violent take-over crime and the loss of San Leandro’s character, we should definitely give independent entrepreneurs a break if they are willing to try life here.
Specifically the little Chicago Blues Cafe on East 14th is such a refreshing independent little spot. It should be saved from demolition in the name of more mall parking for Starbucks and Quiznos. The Chicago Blues Cafe deserves our support for even trying to conduct a friendly little spot on such a nasty boulevard. It’s an oasis of local civility with an astonishing array on the menu for such a tiny closet of a place. Moreover I noticed it is free of the dirty old men that loiter forever in many of the other cafes where I may no longer go. I grew up here, I am 48 and I cannot even find a decent cup of coffee even when I stay clear of bars.
But the Chicago Blues Cafe. It has a wonderful little corner of the parking lot and doesn’t take up much space yet it has personality and it’s small and local. It’s quality not quantity. How many San Leandro cafes are suffering because of all the Starbucks that set up next to them? Please, not another casualty. I don’t even have a car to park where the city would put in more pavement, I ride a bike.
Chicago Blues Cafe adds character and diversity and the sacrifice of them is not worth the few parking spaces demolition would allow. There should be a law against sacrifying independent locals in the name of international or national chains. Nothing wrong with Quiznos or Starbucks but they are not mutually exclusive with the neighbors.
Please get the mall landlord off their backs and let Mark get back to the grill where he was happy.
Cindy Warner