The Second Wind Cafe closed on Dec. 23. It was the second cafe to close at the site in two years. Sun/Jennifer Myers
By Jennifer Myers, jmyers@lowellsun.com
The Second Wind Cafe closed on Dec. 23. It was the second cafe to close at the site in two years. Sun/Jennifer Myers
LOWELL -- Last year began with the closing of Middle Street Indian restaurant Bombay Mahal and ended with the abrupt shuttering of the Second Wind Cafe on Gorham Street.
However, 2009 also saw the opening of Mama Lia's, in the space once filled by Angelina's, the Time Out Cafe (where the Bad Dawgs guys briefly slung wieners), Dharma Buns, Edible Arrangements, Tutto Bene, Garcia Brogan's, the Market Street Market, Metro PCS and Lil' G's.
"Overall, despite the recession we have had a high rate of success in the downtown," said Theresa Park, the city's director of economic development. "We are beating the odds with good vibrant businesses working hard to encourage people to shop locally."
Park added that small businesses do not reap huge profits, and often lose money in their first couple of years.
Mickey's Bar and Grill had its last call on Dec. 26. By the end of January, it is expected to be reinvented as Stur, an Italian tapas-style restaurant and wine bar. Sun/Jennifer Myers
"A business owner needs to correctly assess the market and environment and work to fill gaps in services that are needed in the downtown," she said.
Apparently another coffee/sandwich shop was not one of those unmet needs.
On Dec. 23, the Second Wind Cafe, formerly Cafe Aiello, closed, only four months into its latest incarnation and weeks after winning the hot chocolate competition during the city's City of Lights extravaganza.
The space is not the most attractive location for a business reliant on turnover. Tucked away near the intersection of Gorham and Central streets, across the street from the Middlesex Juvenile Court, the location offers little parking.
After sitting vacant for nearly 30 years, the building opened as Cafe Aiello in June 2006. Two years later, the cafe's owner, Aaron Dettori, struggling and behind on the rent, closed shop. It was purchased by new owners and re-opened in February 2009 as Cafe Aiello, but was subsequently sold to Shannon Goor and Roger Parker, who launched the Second Wind Cafe in August.
Repeated attempts to reach Goor and Parker for comment were unsuccessful.
Down the street, Mickey's Bar and Grill on Central Street, formerly Sangria's and before that Barrister's Restaurant, held their last call on Dec. 26. They did not go out of business, so to speak. Think brown paper covering the windows as a cocoon.
At the end of the month, Stur, a piattini (small plates) restaurant and wine bar is expected to emerge. Piattini are the Italian version of the Spanish-influenced tapas and are slightly larger than tapas, but smaller than an entree.
Michael Doyle, who bought Sangria's in 2008 and turned it into Mickey's, still owns the business. Operations will be in the hands of executive chef Gary Gianchetti.
"I decided that the real opportunity with the business was to cut ties with what it had been for the past several years and bring it back to its former upscale restaurant," Doyle said.
Gianchetti, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, has cooked in restaurants in New York, Las Vegas and Boca Raton, as well as Ristorante Damiano and Prezza in Boston's North End. He has also catered parties for Bruce Willis, Penelope Cruz, Matt Damon, Christian Bale and Katie Holmes.
"Hopefully this will be the best restaurant in Lowell," said Gianchetti. "We will offer more than 50 varieties of wine and good food at a good price."
Offerings are expected to be priced at $12-$18 per plate and include lamb lollipops with a pistachio crust, mint pesto and balsamic vinegar and seared sea scallops with sweet grapefruit, chili pepper glaze and oyster mushrooms.
Going forward, Andy Jacobson, owner of Brew'd Awakenings Coffeehaus and co-owner of Monkey's Ice Cream, both downtown, said what the neighborhood really needs is more retail stores.
"We have a lot of restaurants downtown already and a bunch of new sandwich shops opened over the past year," he said. "We need retail and reasons for people from other parts of the city and from surrounding communities to come into the downtown, like service businesses such as a pet groomer."
He added that the need for more retail was one of the primary reasons Monkey's expanded to carry fair-trade, unusual and fun gift items during the holiday season.
"It was what we needed to do in order to stay open over the winter when not too many people are coming out for ice cream," he said.
Park added that the city is interested in attracting businesses that complement one another, in the same way that the restaurants downtown benefit from shows and events at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium.
"There has also been a lot of interest in an independent movie theater, which comes with its own challenges, but could be a catalyst to bring people into the downtown," she said.
This story appeared in the Lowel Sun on Sunday, January 3, 2010.