Image from Kafe Neo’s Facebook page.
In a letter to their loyal customers posted to Facebook Thursday, owners and brothers Gus and Pete Sverkos of the locally lauded Kafe Neo announced the closing of its “American kitchen with Greek soul.”
This was following an October 31 post stating the restaurant would be closed until further notice, where nearly 30 commenters replied in disappointment that their favorite place to dine would no longer be serving up its signature greek fare. The restaurant had also just celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a block party on October 15.
“This was one of the most difficult decisions my brother and I have had to make and it pains us to close what was literally a dream come true,” stated the post.
Gus and Pete, whose family used to run a foreign car garage called The Carriage Shop in the same location, stated their decision to close was based on them wanting to spend more time with their families.
“After seeing our parents work tirelessly for over 40 years in this very same location, we wanted to reconsider our priorities,” stated the Facebook post. “After more than twelve years on this journey, working 7 days a week for months at a time, the challenges of maintaining the quality and service of the restaurant became taxing.”
Kafe Neo’s Yelp page states the restaurant is scheduled to reopen on December 1, but a call to the eatery for comment went unanswered at the time of publication.
The 2800 East 4th Street location may be transformed into a medical marijuana dispensary. It’s yet to be seen whether a Sacramento County-based company, Ryan Burns Collective, can meet the requirements necessary to obtain a license and officially open up shop.
During a public lottery on Thursday, September 28, the Ryan Burns Collective was one of the 10 non-priority applicants determined to be eligible to receive a medical marijuana license. The collective joined the 22 other businesses given priority to receive licenses if the requirements of the Long Beach Municipal Code and other laws can be met as they build out their spaces.
The collective also applied to set up shop at three other sites throughout Long Beach, which it was denied and placed on the Pending/Ineligible List. If any of the 32 eligible dispensary applicants already selected to move forward in the process are unable to obtain a license at their proposed locations, it’s the list the city will refer to in order to fill that spot.
Keep up to date with Kafe Neo via its Facebook page here.