ARABICA CLOSES

Downtown coffee house abruptly shuts doors

Arabica Coffee in downtown Willoughby has abruptly closed, two years after moving to its current location at 4318 Erie St.

Although a closing announcement came in an Oct. 16 Facebook post stating that as of this date the coffee shop would be closed, many customers like Jo and Scott Farnham of Kirtland did not find out until they came to get their coffee and found a notice taped to the door.

“We have been coming here for years,” Jo said. “This was our spot.”

Staff were notified by a late night email Oct. 15, that the business would be closing, according to employee Michelle Wank who said she was shocked by the news.

The coffee shop has changed ownership several times but has been a fixture to in downtown Willoughby for 22 years and has served as a gathering place for many Willoughby residents, according to current owner Frank Suponcic.

“Since 1996, Arabica enjoyed

a very good run in a challenging and changing local food and beverage environment,” according to the social media post.

According to the same posting, the closing occurred 12 years to the day that the current ownership group purchased the coffee shop.

Suponcic said there’s a lot of things going on currently and he is overwhelmed with things in his life and the coffee shop wasn’t fun for him anymore.

“This is one of those times when something is no longer fun (then) it’s work,” Suponcic said. “I’m not there and not being there is detrimental to successfully running a business. I couldn’t personally invest (the) time into that I thought was necessary.”

Pat Walsh, a downtown business owner and longtime customer, said he was sorry to that the coffee shop closed. He found out when he stopped to get a cup of coffee.

“It’s a shame. They have been here for a long time as a part of downtown Willoughby,” Walsh said.

Wank, who has worked at Arabica for a year, said the closing was very unexpected.

“I know Frank (Suponcic) is hurting bad and it’s hurting us as a family,” Wank said. “This place has been our home. Our regulars become our friends, our coworkers become our family.”

The Facebook posting stated “Everyone in the Arabica family including the current ownership, and all of our many employees past and present - want to express our deepest thanks to our many friends, extremely loyal customers, the fine Willoughby leaders and some in the DTW (Downtown Willoughby) community for their loyal patronage and support over the past 22 years of Arabica being a landmark DTW business.”

KRISTI GARABRANDT — THE NEWS-HERALD Downtown Willoughby business owner and longtime Arabica customer Pat Walsh finds out about the business’s sudden closing when he comes to get coffee on Oct. 16

KRISTI GARABRANDT — THE NEWS-HERALD Arabica customers who did not find out on social media learned about the business’s sudden closing on Oct. 16, when they arrived to find a notice taped to the door.

KRISTI GARABRANDT —THE NEWS-HERALD Arabica employee Michelle Wank tells longtime customers Jo and Scott Farnham that Arabica has permanently closed when they arrived for coffee on Oct. 16.