BY TEQUILA MINSKY | On a sunny but frigid day, the sandwich board touting “100 years in business” outside of Caffe Dante didn’t quite tell the whole story.
The MacDougal St. cafe exudes old-word charm. Just a few decades ago, foreign language-conversations were the norm at the cafe, which attracts locals and tourists alike with its comfortable atmosphere.
Last year, the place was closed for months as the owner refurbished — a response to the doubling of its rent. But, unfortunately, business apparently didn’t increase enough to keep pace with the higher rent.
According to reports, Caffe Dante will be closing after a century in business and has sold its name to an Australian concern — “not because the Australians want to carry on the Dante tradition, but to expedite licensing,” noted an article in The Observer’s real estate section.
However, on Wednesday, Mario Flotta, the cafe’s owner since 1970, denied the reports and stressed to The Villager the place is not closing. It seems a rumor may have been started by “an eavesdropping waitress who heard snippets of a conversation.”
“It’s the same as when I talked to you in the spring,” he said, referring to the renovation. He did admit the rent had been raised $5,000. Meanwhile, blogs that had hastily posted online stories about the imminent “closing,” were scrambling to make retractions. The Villager will have a full follow-up report.
