Closed: The Pier Coffee Shop
The Pier Coffee Shop, which has sat on Anglin's Fishing Pier in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea for 46 years, closed its doors yesterday after a whole lot of drama between the restaurant's manager and the landlords.
Nancy Pisarzewski, 62, the diner's longtime manager, had been battling with the building's owners over extending its hours past 3 p.m. and other issues. The last straw was their dispute over who had to pay a $3,515.25 water bill in December.Well, they're likely going to eat at the same place, once the landlords, brothers Spiro and Louis Marchelos renovate and re-open it. It looks like it got pretty ugly in the few weeks before the closing. Here's the story from the brothers' side:''I thought, that's it -- I'm not going to take it anymore,'' Pisarzewski said.
Its closing will end a long chapter in the pier's history at the end of Commercial Boulevard.
Once known as Tony Calderone's Pier Coffee Shop, it brought in snowbirds as well as regular locals. Calderone, the original owner, died in 2001, leaving the business to his son.
During high season, snowbirds migrated to the five outdoor booths or took a seat at one of the 10 bar stools or three booths inside.
''How good is life when you can sit on a pier, stare at the ocean and eat a wonderful breakfast?'' said Judy Swaggerty, executive director of the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Chamber of Commerce. 'Everybody now is like, `What are we going to do?' ''
Pisarzewski said her decision to close comes after three tense years with the landlords, who recently added $1,000 to her $3,000-a-month rent.The comments after the story, which are usually awful, are pretty interesting this time around, in that very few express sympathy for Pisarzewski and the diner. Instead, they cite maintenance issues and subpar food, and most seem to look forward to what the brothers will bring to the pier.Brothers Spiro and Louis Marchelos, the diner's landlords who also own the nearby Athena-by-the-Sea restaurant, said Pisarzewski went three years without a rent increase and that they have done their best to accommodate her.
They wanted her to extend the diner's hours past 3 p.m., to see the place use its potential.
The Marchelos brothers were passing out fliers outside the restaurant on Thursday, giving their side of the story.
''Rather than accept the increase or even discuss it, the Pier Coffee Shop has, with great drama and angst, and with the spreading of much misinformation, elected to leave the pier,'' the flier read. ``We regret their leaving but we cannot be held hostage by their failure to adapt to changing time and to take advantage of new opportunities.''
Landmark diner in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is shutting down [Miami Herald]
