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Saturday, August 5, 2017

Trianon Coffee Shop Being Ousted By California Pension Fund

"In Austin's West Lake Hills, the coffee shop, The Trianon, is closing at the end of the year because it wasn't given the chance to renew their lease by the West Woods Shopping Center new owners, according to Trianon co-owner Michael Sexton. This was "because they want a bright, new coffee shop to enhance their image," he wrote in an email newsletter. Taking its place is another location of milk-slinging Summer Moon Coffee Bar..."

My Comment: To me, this is a very sad piece of news. I've been going regularly to The Trianon since 1989. I used to watch them roast their coffee beans until they moved the roasters off site because of complaints about the coffee bean aroma in the area.
       I drink drip coffee black. And that is a good measure of good coffee beans. Not so when milk and sweeteners are added. The Trianon knows how to make "good" coffee. They brew it using a wide variety of different kinds of coffee beans, and they always have at least one organic coffee at the ready. I could go in every day, and at the end of six weeks I still wouldn't have tried them all. 
          As the years have gone by, as I've traveled around Austin, I've tried other new venues. All are better than Starbucks, but none better than The Trianon (except one that's on the opposite side of town called the Cherrywood Coffeehouse -- though they only just serve their one house coffee, not the variety that The Trianon does). They all rely heavily on their coffee-based drink trade. Even those who buy 'coffee black' all too often add milk and sweeteners. That means that they don't really know what the coffee itself tastes like.
Note: The underhanded way that The Trianon is being ousted leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I won't be doing business at this shopping center anymore. I can go across the street to the other shopping center to eat out, get my hair cut, buy pet supplies, etcetera. For my coffee, the other shopping center has Seattle's Best coffee at MacDonalds.Why heck! The Trianon was the main reason I frequented their shopping center in the first place. Now, this ouster will be the reason I won't.
Furthermore, I predict that the Summer Moon's lease will become increasingly more expensive during the next few years [especially since Global Retail Investors (aka California Public Employees' Retirement System CalPERS) paid far too much for this particular retail real estate] and that they'll have to support their Westlake location with their other coffee bars. Note: The Trianon's clientele is rather unique in many ways. Their stalwart patronage over the years has been more than just about the coffee. It has, also,  been the good wholesome homey vibes atmosphere. Not hippie and not yuppie. Just real people. 

Trianon-The Coffee Place to close at the end of 2017
https://communityimpact.com/austin/lake-travis-westlake/business/2017/08/02/trianon-coffee-place-close-end-2017/

Summer Moon Coffee Bar to Open in West Lake Hills in 2018:
https://communityimpact.com/austin/lake-travis-westlake/business/2017/08/03/summer-moon-coffee-bar-open-west-woods-shopping-center-2018/

Prime retail center near Westlake sells to giant conglomerate:
https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/real-estate/2016/02/prime-retail-center-near-westlake-sells-to-giant.amp.html

Higher Rents for Retail in Austin Ahead:
https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/real-estate/2016/01/higher-rents-in-store-retail-real-estate.html

Last summer, The Trianon invested heavily in remodeling. Unbeknownst, at the same time, the shopping center owners were negotiating with Summer Moon to take over the newly remodeled space and without saying a word. The Trianon's heavy investment is down the crapper.

Currently, The Trianon is hard to get to because the shopping center owners are revamping the front of all the stores. It'll likely be a couple of months before that's finished. Just in time to shoo us away in December.