Business

Narrows Coffee Shop owner explains his decision to close

December 29, 2020 Jaime DeJesus
Narrows Coffee Shop owner explains his decision to close
Photo by Robert R. Kelk
Share this:

Narrows Coffee Shop, the beloved eatery at 10001 Fourth Ave., closed its doors on Dec. 18, perhaps for good.

Owner Jimmy Anagnostakos, 55, who has worked at the shop nearly his entire life, spoke to this paper about why he decided to shut down.

“The reason we are closing is because I’m having a hard time finding people to replace my workers, especially the ones that have been with us a very long time,” Anagnostakos said. “I’m going to shut down for a little while, but I’m either going to have to rent the store or I’m going to find a couple of good workers and I’ll try to open it up again.

Subscribe to our newsletters

“It’s kind of disheartening, but what are you going to do? It’s part of life.”

The eatery, famous for its burgers, fries and breakfasts, has been around for 54 years. It was originally owned by Anagnostakos’ father, Peter.

Image via Google Maps

Loyal customers were upset when they heard the news that the restaurant was closing.

“I got phone calls from people that moved away and are all over the country, and I guess with Facebook and everything else, news got around pretty good,” Anagnostakos said. “People that moved away wished me well and good luck.”

Many of the shop’s regular customers are police officers, doctors, bus drivers and personnel from the Fort Hamilton Army Base.

“We are at the end of Bay Ridge, so for a lot of bus drivers it was their last stop, so they’d always come here to get something to eat and use the bathroom,” said Anagnostakos.

Frequent customer Barbara Kelly said the store’s closure was a terrible loss for the community.

“This is a wonderful place, where the owner greets all of his regulars by name,” Kelly said.


Leave a Comment

Related Articles

Leave a Comment