Photo: Customers at Mayorga's South Silver Spring coffee house. Courtesy of Flickr user UltimateLibrarian.
The Mayorga Coffee Co. is closing its Georgia Avenue coffee house, according to a press statement on the company’s website.
“Sustainability is such a vital part of everything we do, but the ultimate sustainability is being able to thrive and succeed as a business,” Martin Mayorga, president of the Rockville-based company, announced Wednesday. “Sadly, that is no longer a reality for that location.”
In other words, the store couldn’t turn a profit, said Barry Soorenko, who leases the 6,200 square-foot space along South Silver Spring’s Arts Alley to Mayorga. The coffee company is still obligated to pay $30 per square foot in rent to Soorenko each month, or at least until a new tenant is found, he said.
In the end, it was cheaper for Mayorga to pay rent on a vacant space than it was to keep the coffee house in operation, Soorenko said.
The store opened in 2003, when downtown Silver Spring was just starting on its path toward economic revitalization. But adjacent residential construction, coupled with the temporary but long-term closure of nearby Blair Mill Road, kept customers away, Mayorga claimed.
Other issues — the Great Recession, and free wi-fi service that kept customers lingering for hours without buying anything, to name a few — contributed to the coffee house’s problems, Soorenko said.
At one point, Soorenko and Mayorga discussed downsizing the space to reduce the coffee shop’s overhead. But it would have cost $150,000 in renovations to make that happen, so Mayorga dropped the idea, Soorenko explained.
“If he [Mayorga] had a smaller space, it would have worked out better,” Soorenko said.
As for the coffee company, it plans to open retail shops elsewhere and expand its wholesale operations. Credit that to success at Mayorga’s six other retail shops in the metropolitan area, one in Baltimore and one more in Pittsburgh, and on strong growth at its wholesale end, the press release stated.
For now, the South Silver Spring coffee house will operate during its regular hours until Dec 14. After that, it will focus its business on morning and midday traffic, the press release announced. The doors close for good on Dec 31, Soorenko said.
After the new year, the neighboring Moorenko’s Ice Cream Cafe will serve Mayorga-brand coffee once the shop closes, Soorenko added.
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“free wi-fi service that kept customers lingering for hours without buying anything” causes great frustration to people like me who want to buy my coffee drink, sit down and enjoy it and spend a few more minutes reading or writing — by hand — in a notebook. When I come in and there is nowhere to sit and I have to perch on hearth and when I leave all the chair-occupiers are still there…Caribou needs to tackle this problem, as does Borders. Start charging people by the half-hour, or something. PS-stop letting people take up space with their backpacks or jackets. Make ‘em put ‘em on the floor. And require people to share tables. One human, one seat, that’s it – for a reasonable amount of time.
Mayorga is in a awkward location logistically for both pedestrians and auto users.
Addressing the comment about free wi fi for customers who linger. Perhaps a reasonable amount of time perhaps 30 minutes could be offered for free with additional time offered for a fee. Also in other countries there is also a premium on service when sitting vs. standing at coffee houses.
I’m sad that our community is losing another much loved business.
Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. So sorry to see Mayorga go.
You know, the lingering laptop users never seemed like a problem to me at Mayorga, because there were always plenty of other seats in that vast space. It’s a far bigger problem at Caribou, which has a much smaller space and where they literally run out of seats. Mayorga made the best pumpkin spice latte around — I’ll miss it (it tasted like it had real pumpkin puree in it).
Borders just got free wifi.
Did enjoy meeting people at Mayorga – was a good space for that. Will miss having a coffee shop that also serves Hook & Ladder.
For me, Olivia’s comment about location was more the problem – I never had problem finding a seat, although it wasn’t always the nice comfy chair I wanted. I went a lot when they first opened, when there was a big parking lot out back. When construction started, I got out of the habit, because it’s too far for me to walk and parking was next to impossible, and that went on for years.
I think also though, the service and food had declined in quality enough that it wasn’t worth the fight to figure out how to get there. Still, I only recently discovered that you can park in the garage behind the apartments and I probably would have started going more again anyway. Sadly too late.
That’s funny – I was in the Mayorga at King Farm yesterday and the _employees_ were talking about how hard it was to get to, especially from Metro. Also that it served booze! I went there a few times when I was studying for an exam, but just too out of the way even for me.
If it were in a space in DTSS, even on Colesville, it would kick butt. I was out Monday night w/ my wife & we had to push people out of chairs at Panera, after giving up at Starbucks & Borders for a place to sit. There’s room for more public-space-y cafes, even close in.
What’s unfortunate about them closing now is that I bet as soon as 1200 East-West Highway and the other apartments/condo being built down there are finished they would have a captive audience, despite the hard to get to location. I wonder if they will come back to Silver Spring, albeit in a different place. I bet they would do a lot better however in a space on Fenton, or even Wheaton (in the future).
I worry that the closure of another “locally” owned business means that Silver Spring is on the way to becoming another Ballston or Clarendon; nice places, but essentially the same chain stores you can find anywhere in the US. But isn’t that America (and really the world) today?
A damn shame to see it go for the reasons everyone else has stated. Great meeting place, seemed like a general good fit between space and use. Customer service wasn’t their strong suit, but I like their coffee a lot–you can even get it at Costco!
Real bummer. It’s nice to be able to get a pound of fresh roasted coffee and then have an excuse for lunch and a free cup. Haven’t found anywhere else in town with palatable coffee… So despite its (many) imperfections, I’ll certainly miss Mayorga.
I, like many others, are sad to see it close. However while people hanging out taking up seats may have added to the problem, I think the fact that it would take me 5 minutes to get a cashiers attention and other 5 for them to pour the coffee in a cup and hand it to me, as a larger problem and more of why it is probably closing. I live on East West Hwy, and when I first moved in I would go there fairly often, regardless of the construction. The horrible service is what led me to instead make my own coffee or go to Starbucks.
That is a great space and is large enough for a restaurant/bar. With all of the new residential buildings right on East West, a bar would rake in the dough and it would really give a boost to Georgia Ave. and South Silver Spring, especially with Hook and Ladder and Jackies new bar coming. I know I’m dreaming here since I have no evidence that a bar could ever possibly open there what with the MoCo liquor nazi’s, but it would be great.
yeah well they took the turkey melt and fries off the menu. That was when I stopped going.
I think the shop really had a big identity crisis which made it hard to pull in a consistent clientele. They had this HUGE space which goes against all expectations of a cozy coffee shop, and they also had a bar (which was great, they had the best bartenders), but yet they were only open until 10pm on weekends (and who goes to a bar that closes that early?), and yes, they did have good food for awhile but unless you walked there there wasn’t really a lot of parking. And you wouldn’t really go there for the food unless you knew they served it and had been there before. I was always wondering when they were going to go out of business, frankly.
I would have walked there more often, but the underpass was a drag. There were usually puddles to dodge in the underpass, and I feared they were not water.
Guess more people drove there than I realized. Hey, planners, are you reading this? Everybody cannot walk everywhere all the time.
We need cafes more than we need more bars. And the existing places should start charging for wi-fi. Maybe some of that empty space in City Place could be turned into an internet cafe, with minimal coffee and snacks, and a reasonable charge for Wi-Fi. The laptoppers could do their thing, and the rest of us would be able to find seating at Caribou, Panera et al, so we may consume our coffee or food in peace.
Laura – I remember the first time I went there expecting to get boozed up at the bar (I’d been there for coffee several times before)… It was pouring out, and I walked there from East Silver Spring because for whatever reason I had my heart set on it. Then I got there and they were closed? And I was shocked, and I returned home, dejected and wet.
I was never impressed with that place; poor location and service, not to mention it was filthy.
The problem for me was the music programming. Some years ago they were doing great business with Friday and Saturday night reggae shows — the place was packed every time we went. But that suddenly stopped a long time ago, and through their many changes in management, I couldn’t make sense of what they were trying to do musically. I’m a huge jazz fan, and we have amazing jazz talent in Silver Spring — but most of those folks never play in Silver Spring — i.e., Paul Carr, Jason Marshall, Will and Peter Anderson (”the twins”), Harry Appleman, David Jernigan, Braxton Cook, and many others. And most of those folks, who tend to be big draws wherever they play, rarely, if ever, played Mayorga’s. They occasionally had decent jazz shows but because they never made it easy to find out who was playing on their web site, and because more than once I was given incorrect information when I called, I had a hard time trying to find out who was playing and when.
The service was deteriorating. IMO that was what killed it. Will miss the coffee, chai lattes, and Cuban sandwich. RIP Mayorga. Sad but understandable.
Sad day for Silver Spring. If Starbucks moves into that location, we have officially reached the Apocalypse. National chains suck!
I agree with others — service could have been a lot better and the location was inconvenient. The coffee itself was very good, but lately I’ve just been picking up a pound of their beans at Whole Foods rather than trucking down past the Metro tracks so I could wait for them to decide to take my order.
I also thought the food was subpar.
Didn’t think the wifi users were a problem as the space was so big.
This Mayorga location will certainly be missed. I learned a lot about coffee from them (roasting, blend and bean selection etc), and will certainly miss their knowlegable staff. I travel a great deal for work, and its been nice to come back from each trip to a friendly staff, and some great coffee (my wife and I are both “regulars” with Mayorga, and would go have some coffee every time I came home). Hopefully they will return to the area soon because drinking what else is available locally just isnt acceptible. And supporting larger, franchise-driven, national companies isnt somthing that I am fond of either. I think Starbucks coffee is inferior to just about every blend I have found at Mayorga, and I like to support the local businesses as well. I keep waiting for them to open a cafe in Denver so that I can enjoy their coffee while on the road! Sad to see you go…
I like their coffee and even with the location I would have gone more if their service wasn’t horrible. I went down there after reading this to get a Cafe Dulce before they close. It took 15 minutes after ordering before I had my drink. There was nobody else waiting for a drink before me. The person behind me had to wait close to 10 minutes at the counter before someone served her and all she wanted was a coffee. Every time I went in the past it took just as long and half the time the drinks would be something different then ordered.
I have little doubt that the years long construction in the neighborhood certainly took its toll on business at Mayorga. But it’s evident from the comments above, and many of the comments on Yelp, that poor service was a major contributing factor in the failure to turn a profit in this location. I think almost everyone wanted Mayorga to succeed (I certainly did), but crappy service will nix any sense of loyalty to a business in a heartbeat. So even though we’re all sorry to see Mayorga go, the reality is that customers were unwilling to deal with the hassles of navigating through a construction zone just to end up with a 15 minute wait for a simple cup of coffee.
Want to know where to get great service and a good cup of coffee in Silver Spring? Just walk up Georgia Avenue a few blocks, take a right on Bonifant and step into Kefa Cafe. They know service! I hope the one silver lining in this news is that maybe the folks at Kefa Cafe get some much deserved business from folks who used to go to Mayorga.
“Silver Spring is on the way to becoming another Ballston or Clarendon”
I’m from Silver Spring… I want Silver Spring to succeed… Silver Spring is nowhere near Ballston or Clarendon yet – and not headed that way. Not when it comes to chains or local businesses. Just one example; bars. Clarendon still has the fantastic IOTA, plus Galaxy Hut, Whitlows and Clarendon Grill. Silver Spring has the Quarry House – that’s it, that’s the list.
I think it is unfair to start making assumptions like “Mayorga couldn’t pull a profit.” I went out of my way to drink Mayorga Coffee from the store when there were other options that were closer with “bigger names.” The coffee is better, the service is better, and the ambiance was better. The problem is that overdevelopment has killed location. You should be striving to support the local guy not bashing him (targeted at the person who did not bother to check hours before showing up). It’s always the small guy who suffers, and that is a shame. I have never had anything but perfect service at this and any other Mayorga location I’ve been to. If anything the service gets better as time goes on and Mayorga adapted to their customers needs and desires. The article seems to have an agenda which seems to leak through in biased reporting. I do not believe everything I read, I believe what I see with my own eyes and I have seen nothing but a great retail outlet that I will be sad to see go. Here’s to the continued success of Mayorga Coffee
Kefa Cafe is truly extraordinary. It’s almost unreal. I wish they could upon up a southern branch in the space Mayorga is leaving. However, Kefa’s small size may be part of the secret. I have never seen an employee there, only the owner/operators.
I’ve gotten coffe at a Mayorga at BWI Airport. Is that store still there?
I love Mayorga’s products….but the staff at that location is consistently chaotic (nice but chaotic). They didn’t smooth out over time. I also have a problem there and at other coffee houses/shops with people who buy a cup and park themselves at a table for long periods of time. I hate circling and circling with my cup and plate looking for an opening while the freeloaders are camping in the chairs.
Wow, I think maybe Mark had one too many cups of coffee today! First, I don’t think any assumptions were made with regards lack of profit – the press release stated that revenue declines were a major reason why they’re closing. Second, most everyone agrees with you that their coffee is better (than the chains), and many probably also agree that the ambience was better, however many here and on other websites would argue that service was a constant problem at this Mayorga location. Third, I don’t see how a reference to their early closing is “bashing” the local guy – I think it’s a genuine complaint that I’ve heard voiced by others over the years. Fourth, the main article seems fairly factual and not laced with a hidden agenda. If anything, it’s clear that the author is trying to provide a forum for the owner to express why they have had to close.
Let’s keep some perspective here folks. Most, if not all of us are sad to see the store close. However, as I mentioned before, the realities are that they were battling a construction zone environment and the perception (real or not) that service was not up to par.
I liked Mayorga quite a bit. Yeah, the service was nice but sloooow and it was hard to get to on foot (crossing GA ave is a drag) and even driving there was chaotic (just try leaving Mayorga heading north toward DTSS) but it was that very good “third place” that people talk about: a place to hang out besides work and home. Alot of posters are talking about the perils of free WiFi but there was never a problem getting a seat there even when it was busy b/c they had alot of seats. Not rocket science but think of Starbucks or Caribou where they devote half the floor space to retail trinkets and CDs. National chains are never about being that kind of hang out place like Mayorga was. That’s why it is a shame. Maybe the dude who runs Tryst and the Diner could make it work there…..or maybe Mayorga could make it work in DTSS….
Ah, yes, brh reminds me – they’d also sometimes close early for no apparent reason, which was fun to discover after making a special trip and figuring out where to park. I think one of those times was the last straw for me during the construction period.
They over-expanded the business perhaps. When they first opened, it was their only shop, if I recall correctly.
Great coffee. So-so food. Bad location. I was a frequent visitor before and during construction, but not much post-construction.
And of course there was the freezing cold day that the Obama campaign staffer wouldn’t let me in to buy coffee due to a campaign event (voted for him anyway).
I will miss Mayorga.
Wow. I can’t tell if the thought of a Tryst in downtown SS thrills me or horrifies me.
Kefa is a heck of a place, though I don’t find the coffee to be especially great, nowhere near the quality of Mayorga. But the service is spectacular, the sisters who own it are the sweetest people you’ll ever meet, and they’ll make you pretty much anything they’re able to without any fuss. If this does drive more people to go to Kefa, that would make be feel rather warm and fuzzy.
this is terrible news. Mayorga was the only true independent coffee house in SS. The location may not have been great for those who drive but for those of us who live in walking distance, the location is fantastic. However, the quality of everything already mentioned – food, service, etc declined rapidly and markedly not long after I discovered Mayorga (3 years ago). I personally stopped going when it became absolutely filthy – the tables and chairs always seem to have a film of filth and mugs/glasses are often covered in lipstick, finger smears and food bits. No thanks. I’m messy enough at home, I don’t need to pay money for the mess.
I agree that the service has gone down as of recent, but I definitely will miss Mayorga! It’s always been very convenient for me to walk to Mayorga, so I guess I’ve never thought how it might not be in the best location for those who don’t live nearby. I’ve also been very fortunate and never really experienced the numerous bad experiences that others have had. I’ve never once been over there and not been able to find a seat. I for one (and realize I’m clearly in the minority) like the fact that people go to Mayorga and just hang out for the afternoon. It seems like that’s what the whole coffee house concept is all about. I definitely am quite sad to see Mayorga go. I better get my Chai latte fix in before they are no longer in the hood.
What a shame for downtown Silver Spring to give up such a great institution. But whenever I was in there, I would think to myself, “How can they keep this place going with the low amount of traffic they get in the store?” Now I know — they weren’t making a go of it.
I liked the quality of the coffee a lot. But the service was inexplicably slow. I don’t think the people with wifi laptops were the problem — Mayorga was always the one place I could count on to get a seat. Starbucks, Borders and Panera are almost always packed. I love the Kefa coffeeshop on Bonifant and Georgia, but with it being closed most evenings and Sundays, I simply don’t make it there often. SS really could use some more independent coffee shops — anyone out there listening who can change that?
Just a quick comment to note that there is also Highland Origin Coffee at the corner of Fenton and Silver Spring Ave (just a short walk from Mayorga). Unlike Kefa this place is open in the evenings and on Sundays. Having not actually been I can’t vouch for the quality of the coffee, food, service, etc; however hopefully others might chime in (it gets decent reviews on Yelp).
Also, our neighborhood listserv posted some information on the future of Mayorga which seemed to suggest that they are looking into a better location in Silver Spring. I just hope that if they do end up finding a new location they also take the opportunity to address service issues. I also hope the old building finds a great new tenant – I always thought it looked great in the evenings when approaching Silver Spring on the metro. Ideally a good quality restaurant along the lines of Brasserie Beck or Proof would fill the slot, or a wine bar like Cork on 14th Street would be ideal.
Re: Highland, the coffee seemed very acid/bitter to me, not particularly smooth. If you’re the sort to dull your joe down with sugar and cream, probably not an issue, but I found it less than palatable. Food was fine, service was fine, and the atmosphere is quite nice.
While this is a huge loss, we need to remember that there are plenty of other independent coffee shops that need our continued support: Tiramisu Cafe & Bakery on Eastern Avenue, Highland Coffee on Fenton Street and Kefa Cafe on Bonifant.
Yeah, I heard about this at work last week, that they were going belly up. Some of the employees were upset because they liked the coffee, but many weren’t surprised for reasons others had mentioned: no parking, bad location, bad service, and bland food. I had already posted elsewhere about my negative experience.
Businesses have to be adaptable to survive these days. They have to make loyal customers, and sadly, Mayorga was just not cutting it. You know things are getting bad when they complain the customers are at fault. Like they think customers owe them.
Editor’s note: Well said. — JD (Dec 14, 2009)
The comments above illustrate why slavish loyalty to independent businesses strictly because they are independent doesn’t make sense, nor does it help the businesses themselves. (Note that Mayorga is actually a chain now…)
If more people had stopped going there earlier and let them know why (bad food, slow service, etc.), perhaps this is something they could have remedied and stayed viable. No doubt the unclear parking situation contributed, but like many commenters above, I never really had that great an experience at Mayorga. It was just OK. Say what you want about Starbucks, but the people working there know what they are doing, and you can get your drink quickly.
There are some other independent Silver Spring businesses that I no longer patronize due to repeated bad service experiences. If these places want to be successful, it’s important for them to maintain a level of quality control equal or superior to their chain counterparts. Even Starbucks was an independent coffeehouse once, but obviously they did something right that made them popular with customers and allowed them to grow rapidly. It should be noted that most independent coffee houses only exist because Starbucks created the market for them.
Editor’s note: Very well said. — JD (Dec 14, 2009)
Except that when Starbucks grew, I can only assume the quality went down – had their coffee always tasted the way it does now, I can’t imagine they would’ve gotten so big… Once you grow enough from just being good, you can start to grow from marketing and brand recognition, you buy other chains (Seattle’s Best), you use local-washing techniques to bag the Starbucks haters, etc. You don’t necessarily have to stay amazing, just… enough.
A lot of things about Mayorga stunk, but they know how to roast beans. At least the bagged goods should still be around. Maybe my view is a bit tainted, being lucky enough to have never had any truly miserable experiences with the service… (but again, nothing like the joy of eating at Kefa).
Too bad. My kids liked the place, although it closed too early for them. I wish they’d move to our side of the tracks instead of closing.
When there’s no line and it still takes them 15 minutes to get you your cup of coffee, they’re not going to last long.
I liked the place theoretically, but the service was mind-numbingly slow and confused. And I’m a pretty patient guy.
I’m especially sad to lose Mayorga since a trivia game night event that I created and co-produced back in 2005 will lose its home (it occurred the the first Tuesday of every month). The event was inspired by the European pub-style quizzes that I loved so much and based upon the original “Wits & Wagers” game that my friends at North Star Games created. Mayorga was a great, hospitable place for the event and I met lots of great people during its run. I will definitely miss Mayorga Silver Spring.
Too bad. My kids liked the place, although it closed too early for them.
We found a coffee store located at 8200 Fenton Street, Silver Spring the have a strong coffee stimulates the senses. It’ll wake you up. This place has the good stuff. As far as I can tell. This place makes a nice cup of joe.
There have been rumors that Mayorga would reopen in Takoma Park. Here is what I saw this afternoon: walking past the site of the old Drifting Nomad (across from the Takoma Metro station), I saw workers inside. The furniture had been removed and the formerly bright-yellow walls had been painted white. There were several coffee urns bearing the Mayorga logo. So it looks like someone is moving in, and they will be serving Mayorga coffee. Hope the white paint is just primer, and that wall color and/or interesting art is on the way.
Well, DUH! Just clicked on the link in the original Penguin story, and found this on the company website: “Mayorga Coffee is proud to announce the opening of a new location at 314 Carroll Street, NW in Washington, DC. The 1,200 square foot location is scheduled to open on January 25th. The location will offer Mayorga’s signature coffee beverages, fresh baked pastries, and whole bean coffee roasted by Mayorga at their Rockville, MD roasting facility.”