Photo by Greggory Moore.
Coffeeshop owner Tim Terrell doesn’t want to get into the specifics. What he will say is that he fully expected Aroma di Roma to stay where it was upon the recent expiration of its 10-year lease.
But as recent visitors to its gated-up storefront in Belmont Shore can testify, that didn’t happen.
“They were just looking to bring in a bigger corporation,” Terrell says of his former landlord, “and we just couldn’t come to terms regarding a new lease.”
Terrell says the landlord of the now-former Aroma di Roma space is an out-of-towner, and that the steep rent increase being demanded by the landlord left Terrell with no choice but to vacate.
This development was a surprise to Terrell. He points to his having recently spent $15,000 renovating Aroma di Roma’s outdoor space as evidence of his lack of awareness that such a situation would arise.
“I didn’t plan on going anywhere,” he says.
But now a move for Aroma di Roma is a fait accompli; the only question is to where. Terrell hopes to land another 2nd Street location—by January 1, if he has his druthers. In the meantime, he is searching for a temporary location.
But one thing is certain, he says: the story of Aroma di Roma is not over.
The Long Beach Post will update this story if/when Aroma di Roma lands a new location. For more information, visit AromaDiRoma.com.