Pam Opel, Manager, owner Sharon Bang, and server Morgan Hinsee want West Seattle to know that the Alki Bakery and Alki Cafe are not the same business and that they are still open every day. Bang also said that they are in negotiations to take over the Bakery space and reopen it in February or March.
The Alki Cafe, at 2726 Alki Avenue s.w. has seen business drop by "over 40%" since the closure of the Alki Bakery across the street, according to cafe owner Sharon Bang. They used to serve 100 to 120 customers daily and now that number is down to 50 to 60. "Having that bakery closed, we're sort of like a one armed soldier," said Bang.
While some business downturn can be attributed to the economy Bang believes that the dropoff is primarily due to the confusion some people have about the cafe vs. the bakery. There's no question about that.
People often tell them that they think they are the same company and for a time last year the phone directory had their two phone numbers confused. As recently as this week a UPS delivery was cancelled because they reported the business as closed. Bang has been told by more than a few customers that they thought the cafe was closed.
The synergy between the two businesses however was good, according to Bang, with regular customers patronizing both. To bring that back Bang reports she is in final negotiations to take over the former Alki Bakery space sometime in the next 30 days. Since permitting and some minor renovations are in order the space won't reopen until February or March. "I plan on keep the same ambience," said Bang, "I want to keep the bakery open and run it as it has been run with some updates to upgrade the equipment." A name change is order too since Alki Bakery as a company is still operating in other locations.
Over a decade ago the Alki Bakery was located where cafe is now. But the Bakery moved into the opposite corner, taking over the space that once housed a drugstore, and the cafe was operated by new owners who ran it until they sold it in April, 2009 to Bang. The biggest changes she has made were to add a dog friendly outdoor seating area and walk in freezer.
Business at the beach normally is lighter during the winter Bang said, "we do roughly 60% of what we do in the summer" but this dropoff will mean cutting back on jobs if things don't turn around. The cafe supports 16 jobs, some full time some part time and Bang has cut her own hours recently in order to keep people employed during the holidays.
The Alki Cafe is open weekdays 8:00 am to 2:00 pm and weekends until 2:30 pm.
