Viento y Agua will be closing its doors on Sunday, July 27, having served the Belmont Heights community for over 20 years and becoming an essential part of the solid coffee scene here in the city. The coffeeshop shared the news on social media.
Owner Jenny La Force did not want to publicly discuss the situation, allowing her the space to process it. Jenny has been discussing openly her need to move past the business due to both tiredness and the desire to move on. Others in the community, however, are not so clear on Jenny’s or the landlord’s decision.
The beginning of the controversy starts inside Viento y Agua.
Employees and community partners, when noting the closure, focused on the fact that longtime barista and front-of-house leader Flavia De Maio was expected to take over the shop. But she was unfortunately not given the keys. Even vendors like Yvonne Márquez, owner of the queer- and Latina-centric Adelita’s Revenge space inside the shop, was taken aback by the abrupt announcement.
“The owner told me she had brokered a deal. It was with [Brockman Properties] and they were closing at the end of the month,” Yvonne said. “I asked, ‘What does that mean for me?’ She said, ‘Well, we’re out at the end of the month.’ In other words: You’re giving me a two-week notice to leave? But you have to give me 30 days. So nope”
And while Yvonne has yet to receive a formal notice to vacate, it is but one part of the drama surrounding the coffee shop’s closure.
The further drama surrounding Viento y Agua’s closure.
According to an employee who wished to remain anonymous, after Jenny informed Brockman Property that she wanted to put the space up come the end of July. She had, supposedly, wanted to transfer the lease. However, the landlord would not permit Jenny to just transfer the lease and requested a significantly higher rent for any new tenants. Flavia was informed that she was to apply the same as everyone else for the space. There would be no preferential treatment in the consideration of future tenants.
“There was no way for Flavia to be set up for the space,” the employee said. “No time, no thought. Just, ‘It’s up on a website to apply for.’ So, of course, she is going to be slotted out by someone with a better portfolio. It felt like Jenny already had someone lined up—though I haven’t had anything confirmed. Just rumors. Either way, there was no assist to Flavia.”
Even Yvonne stood behind one fact: Flavia has long been the face of Viento and deserves to take it over.
“I emailed Brockman and told them to please consider Flavia,” Yvonne said. “This is her space if anyone’s. And in a time when our voices are being silenced either on the national level politically or literal levels on our streets… Spaces owned and operated by actual members of the community become essential.”
With Flavia currently traveling in Europe, she was unable to respond to the story.
Viento y Agua has long been a staple in the coffee community of Long Beach.
Viento y Agua owner Bela Mogyorody originally opened the space solely as a gallery in 2003 with Jenny. But they soon realized how easily and comfortably coffee and art go together. After his departure four years ago, Jenny took over the space, making it one that has been both well-lived in and constantly changing in the best way possible. This led to open mics. Book clubs. They scored a piano to put front and center. And they host the aforementioned Adelina’s Revenge, a queer Latina-owned shop filled with Mexican and Latin American-centric goods.
Which is precisely why Yvonne of Adelita’s and others from the community are not going down without a fight.
“You have Flavia, a queer woman of color, who has worked her ass off in the hopes of taking the space over and keeping it as a space the community uses,” Yvonne said. “A space they engage with. It’s worth fighting for Flavia to have a chance at it.”
Viento y Agua is located at 4007 E 4th St.
Editor’s note: this piece was originally published on July 16; it was updated on July 23.
This is heartbreaking. Viento is a wonderful place that I frequent almost daily after dropping off my kid at Freemont Elementary located across the street. Flavia is the face of that coffee shop and would be a great owner.
Unfortunately this article was slanted and full of rumors and conjecture.
A private business owners decisions and landlords/leases are based on facts not rumors. The commentary in the article made by anonymous and others are not accurate. The insinuation that any decisions being made by the current owner closing and what options a landlord is giving to a new tenant being based on anything other than facts are slanderous, hurtful to the business, the community and fosters dissent.
I agree with this.
Brian, you are an award-winning food journalist, and there are many actual instances in recent LB food history of bad-acting owners and harmful actions towards employees and this just ain’t it. You are better than this.
Jenny wants to close? That’s her right to do so without explanation. Sounds like she went out of her way to be more helpful than anyone would’ve reasonably expected of most restaurant owners. Honestly, you owe her an apology for this gross gossip piece.
There is little that suggests she’s a bad owner. And she had the option to clarify things—so I went with what I could gather off-record. This piece doesn’t slam her at all; if anything, it really blames the landlord and the continuing ballooning of costs for owning a small business. There are others who went on record and questioned things; they have that right just as much as Jenny has the right to close, which she has been openly discussing for years.
I don’t know, man. I think you need to look at the way this story is worded a little more carefully. I mean, here’s two comments telling you this was more harshly pointed at Jenny than is warranted. The comments on this being reposted on Reddit have a couple flat out accusing her of being greedy, based solely on your story.
Honestly, just look at your bolded ledes. “Amid controversy… the controversy starts inside… the further drama…”
You’re stoking the drama. You didn’t “need” to seek further comment in the absence of Jenny giving clarification of the inner business workings.
The place is closing and the landlord isn’t interested in accommodating a transition to Flavia, who we all know is a great barista but might have a mountain of debt and terrible credit with no financial backing. Is that the comment you’d want from Jenny?
My music group and I played for a little over 10 years at this magical place. Beautiful memories, forever friends and music shared will always be remembered and cherished in our hearts.
It is sad that this lovely welcoming community gathering place is closing but Sunday, July 27th will be their last day open to the public as I understand it.
Brian should work for CNN. All those words that say nothing.
Aww, thanks for reading and such a compliment… That would be a great honor. Hope all is well, Jerry. Sending you light and love.