Square Cafe set to move to East Liberty
Despite calling it home since 2003, the Square Cafe increasingly was like the proverbial square peg in the round hole along South Braddock Avenue in Edgewood, and Sherree Goldstein hopes that moving to East Liberty in the fall will be a more perfect fit.
The proprietor of the colorful and popular diner officially announced Tuesday that she’ll move her beloved business to the corner of South Highland and Centre avenues into the former sites of Spoon and BRGR restaurants, which announced their closure a month ago. She said she hopes to be up and running there as soon as September.
“We’re in the process of getting it ready and moving things into it,” she said. “I know the reality of how these things can go, but when I started Square Cafe, it was six weeks from when we signed the lease until we served the first meal.”
She’s hoping to reprise that feat, but she and her staff will have their work cut out for them. Her existing location is 2,000 square feet; in the new spot the double dining room is roughly 8,000 square feet and has a rooftop deck, a basement and a liquor license.
“Everything’s bigger,” she said.
“We’ll have much, much more space in general, plus storage. We have no storage now.”
A brouhaha erupted last September between her and Edgewood
officials over the number of seats and tables she had on the sidewalk outside the cafe, which she’d maintained for years to handle the routine overflow of customers, particularly on weekends in warmer months.
The borough cited Square Cafe in September for multiple violations of its outdoor seating regulations, including having tables too close to the curb, failing to provide enough space for pedestrians and allowing sidewalk dining year-round.
Edgewood’s permit application for sidewalk cafes does not allow outdoor seating from November through February. Large heat lamps made year-round outdoor dining possible. The problem was temporarily resolved and Ms. Goldstein was asked to reapply for her sidewalk seating, but the emergence of COVID-19 made that moot for much of this year. Since reopening, Square Cafe has done takeout only.
The restaurant’s sister grocery and prepared foods shop, My Goodness, will remain in Regent Square. Ms. Goldstein said she doesn’t have a closing date for her original location but said she’ll begin operating in East Liberty “the minute we are able to.”
When that happens, customers can expect the same breakfast and lunch items made with local, sustainable and organic products as well as fresh juices, smoothies and coffee. Ms. Goldstein hopes to have a liquor license in place by early 2021 and add dinner service.
“We have a pretty diverse clientele, and part of our mission is to be philanthropic and be a part of the community [and] get involved with everybody and anybody,” she said.
Yet it won’t be easy to say goodbye to the spot where she built her business.
“For sure, it’s bittersweet. We love the residents and the street. We really made space for ourselves over there, bringing some energy to that street. Our people are like our family.
“It was like a second kitchen for our customers and a place they’d bring guests from out of town or have a special occasion. Or it was just their place around the corner to get a cup of coffee.”