When the Long Beach political class announced their pride of making Long Beach the city with the most punitive anti smoker laws, it set in motion that which we have today. While "helping" us little children, the effect was to lessen the economy of scale that local restaurants and coffee shops needed to serve products at reasonable cost and still make a profit.

The effect is readily apparent on the menus. The chains' $3.98 "special" is approaching the $10.00 mark, this after portion size was reduced and soup an salad became soup "or" salad.

Decent moms and dads who smoke tobacco are to applauded for their continuing boycott of local restaurants and coffee shops. Us kids just hope the politicians put a fee on non smoking automobile drivers who drive their cars into the downtown area. We want to begin being able to breathe healthy air.

Ronald

@ #17/Helen.

Helen, you can start by helping the EV pull its head out of its ass. There is an East Village association that is hosting a meeting next week. Here is info. Try to make it out for that and get involved, let your voice be heard. MoLAA Wed, Feb 20th 7pm-8.30pm

I haven't been to one of these yet either so i'm gonna check it out.

Passport closes early even on (late) Second Saturday Artwalk nights. And they just opened another location near Carson & Woodruff (or is it Bellflower?) Nope, don't know how they do it.

It's a shame The Broadlind just packed up... I was hoping they'd be more active posting their events on EastVillageArtsDistrict.org, EVfriends.com, LongBeachCulture.org and other avenues to get the word out because they had quality music and art. Best wishes to them and Echo Long Beach!

Alas!! I visited the Broadlind Cafe for the first time a few weeks ago, but it was gone before I had a chance to make a repeat visit. Great setup - the space was open and comfortable (unlike Passport), the coffee was good (unlike Passport), the lunch menu was extensive (unlike Passport), and heck - they had free wifi (oh wait, Passport has that - 3 out of 4, not bad). Couldn't have asked for a better place. What I don't understand is how Passport can survive the high rents/lack of foot traffic/etc. when Broadlined couldn't. What up's, East Village?

I've only been in the EV for about 6 months, not long enough to know all the back story... but for as long as I've been here the Broadlind has been my cafe of choice for the ambiance, people, and good food. I was shocked to see it vacant last week. Anyone have any thoughts of what the residents of EV can do, aside from go out and spend our $ at the local establishments (and invite our friends)? I'd love to get involved in some of the local goings on.

sad this place is closed

Lived in the Lafayette for 11 years and couldn't figure out why these places weren't more popular...I think there just needs to be more cool (or appropriate) retail around to balance out all the crunchy patchouli cafes. Thought the EV was gonna happen when Koo's came in, but then Open left for 4th St and not much has replaced it. Though if Suja "train to Belmont Shore" Lowenthal has any say in it, the whole EV would be better off as stucco condo boxes, anyhow.

not a fan of passport. the broadlind cafe is the only spot i can think of that had a shot of really becoming a cultural institution for the east artist village. meaning a place where locals hung out, created second offices for the creative class, etc, etc. nothing else has this flavor.

why does the east artist village continue to just drag along and never really improve. i might suggest that the district do a story on that...an expose of sorts.

i def can't speak for them but i think it is the money problem (from lack of foot traffic + parking?) and i am told a restaurant of some kind may be going in next. they were doing really cool art and music shows in the last months. sad to see them close. that ISM show up at koo's right now is really cool if anyone happens to be in this neighborhood tho, and you can still get coffee @ passport!

super bummed about this. does anyone know what the reason is for them shutting down besides what i assume the obvious to be, lack of revenue. just wondering if their rents were being raised or something like that.

i was digging this place too...if anything i would love to see the basement go down in flames for being lame and places like this stick around.

this part of down goes up and down all the time, i always wonder why??

I'm going to miss it....I think it's one of the nicest looking coffee shops in all of LB with a great open space floor plan....I think the hard truth is that all businesses in that area are struggling with lack of parking and foot traffic. Not even a few blocks away from Pine and it's practically a ghost town most of the week...you wouldn't know it was the city's Arts District at all if you were a tourist and just casually driving by...sad to see it go, but sadder still to see not enough efforts to boost the traffic in the area

Aw, so sad to see it go.

when long beach city gov got us to vote for all the redevelopment they promised they'd also provide lots of free parking to help those businesses survive,look at pine avenues shops.the smartest thing long beach can do is drop rent and establish plenty of free parking to draw people back into the downtown again.

watching them [Broadlind Cafe] carry the furniture out right now. sad. nice folks.

I wonder if the planes'll cover that schizophrenic classic "I'm A Little Bit Country, I'm A Little Bit Rock 'N' Roll" in light of the fact that they're releasing a rock CD and a C&W CD?

Yes! I will be there.

ahahah oh yeah well i had some company who wanted to see the madison... hey but paperplanes tomorrow???

que lastima!

Well-of course!
I mean it WAS a rhetorical question after all. Like I would spend liquor money on coffee.
Speaking of which, why I never see you there?
Always walking past in a hurry like a big important man promising to return-but you never do.
LIAR!

house of hayden?

Well this just sucks.
We've got a shit load of coffee shops in this neighborhood, but only one, Broadlind Cafe, that I have consistently enjoyed since Dominick and Sandra left the Village Grind for Australia.
Where am I supposed to go now?