For nearly 50 years, Café Tropical has served as a gathering place for morning coffees, afternoon lunches and endless writing sessions in Silver Lake. For many, it also provided a taste of home. But the Los Angeles classic will no longer offer its Cuban midnights.
Earlier this week, the cafe on Sunset Boulevard posted a handwritten note in one of its windows announcing that it would close permanently after service on Friday.
A handwritten sign at Café Tropical says the restaurant's last day of service will be December 1, 2023.
(Suzy Exposito / De Los)
While Café Tropical has been in business since 1975, it was purchased in 2019 by the owners of former Cuban restaurant El Cochinito, who also own the recently opened Cuban-inspired cocktail bar Bolita.
A similar sign was also posted in the restaurant's window announcing the closure of El Cochinito. Bolita announced on Instagram that his last day of service would be Saturday. All three companies are reportedly closed at Google.
A person familiar with the business who was not authorized to speak on the record confirmed to The Times that the closure was due to a family dispute.
Customers reacted to the news on social media and shared what the companies have meant to them.
“This hurts in more ways than you can imagine,” commented @Nene.Pablo on Instagram. “This place was a refuge for many 💔,” added @meganrosati.
Several people also pointed out how the El Cochinito café and restaurant cultivated community and spoke to their identity. Here they could find an authentic Cuban or mamey shake, a Cuban staple that reminded them of home.
“As a Cuban-Floridan who has been in Los Angeles for almost eight years, this place made me feel at home but also made me feel like I was making a new home with all the wonderful employees and customers I talked to and met. It's strange to say it but having my coffee and ham croquettes is part of my identity. These places cultivate community and relationships. I fear that Los Angeles could be turning in a direction that will only hurt small businesses, not help them grow. We love you Café Tropical. I will miss you,” shared @renerod.
“I can't believe they're closing! Growing up with my grandmothers cooking Cuban, you made Los Angeles feel like home to me,” @hsancheziii wrote on El Cochinito's Instagram, which was deactivated on Friday.
For many who often make coffee shops their offices, Café Tropical was a go-to place in Los Angeles. On any given afternoon, screenwriters, authors and journalists sat glued behind their laptops as groups exchanged ideas over guava cakes.
Poet Yesika Salgado, who grew up in Silver Lake, often talks about her time at the café. This is where she worked on her first two books “Heart” and “Treasure.” In 2019, she told The Times that she joked with workers: “I'm here so long, I should start paying rent.”
De Los reporter Chelsea Hylton and columnist Suzy Expósito contributed to this. report.
