Café Renata owners Kate Steenstra and Yasser Aiq (archived photo).

Great news for Café Renata regulars and everyone who appreciates good coffee, enjoys food with Mediterranean flavors and supports local businesses: Nearly two months after the devastating fire that shut down the popular café’s storefront at 43rd and Locust, owners Kate Steenstra and Yasser Aiq are sharing the news that they are reopening their business at a new location – the former Subway restaurant space at 4533 Baltimore Avenue. Last month we reported that the space that had been vacant since December was available for rent.

The new lease was already signed, and Katie and Yasser’s plans are under way at full speed to get up and running again. They have started moving their equipment to the new location and upgrading the space.

Morning after fire at Café Renata at 43rd and Locust.

It wasn’t an easy decision for Renata owners to give up Locust St that worked great for them. However, after considering the pre-existing structural issues with the building that were exposed by the fire, the amount of time they had left on their lease and the timeline projections on rebuilding that space that their previous landlord gave to them, they decided that the best option for them and their customers was to give Renata a new long term home.

After the fire a lot of support poured in for Renata owners from the community members and local businesses. A fundraiser for Renata took place in March at The Bar(n) on Baltimore.

“The easy part for us was deciding that there was no way we were going to quit all together. And that 100% came from all the support and encouragement that our customers and neighbors showed us after the fire. We couldn’t have asked to be in a better neighborhood. We’d like to thank everyone for all their continued support, it means so much to us to be a part of this great community!” Katie wrote in an e-mail.

We’ll keep you posted on an opening date, which is expected this summer.

Café Renata is relocating to the former Subway restaurant space at 4533 Baltimore Avenue.

Last December we reported that the Subway restaurant at 4533 Baltimore Ave. closed down for an indefinite time. Four months later the restaurant is still closed and a sign appeared on the building saying that the space is being leased by Mallin Panchelli Nadel Realty, Inc.

The 1,100-square-foot space with a basement is reportedly offered for $2,500 a month (the listing with more information and photos is here). All the equipment, fixtures and furniture left after Subway are still there and available for purchase, according to the listing.

Prior to Subway this space was used by small local businesses. The news of Subway opening in the space in 2012 wasn’t taken well by some community residents (see photo below). The restaurant became a focal point of controversy in 2011 and 2012 (read more here).

The Zoning Board of Adjustment has changed its mind and given the go ahead for a Subway restaurant to be located in a vacant storefront at 4533 Baltimore Ave.

The Board voted on Feb. 1 to approve the Subway, reversing a decision it made last month to deny the application because of concerns of nearby neighbors about additional traffic in the alley behind the proposed location.

The Board’s decision followed a “plea for reconsideration” from the Spruce Hill Community Association and the Subway franchisee’s attorney. In a letter to the Board dated mid January, Barry Grossbach, who heads a committee that considers zoning issues for the SHCA, wrote that the Subway would provide a stable tenant for the storefront property and that the Association was “at a loss” about the previous decision to deny Subway a take-out certificate that would enable it to open.

The Subway would be the first chain restaurant on that section of Baltimore Avenue, where many businesses are locally owned.

“‘Mom and Pop’ businesses are often operating at the margins and while they remain the central and cherished fabric of our neighborhood commerce, we are always fearful that what is here today might be gone tomorrow,” Grossbach wrote. “Subway … promised a degree of stability that any corridor would welcome.”

More than a dozen nearby residents wrote letters to the Board to voice their opposition to the Subway, including state Rep. James Roebuck, who lives on 46th Street.

“I live a block from this location and I too share these concerns about the impact a Subway would have on my community,” he wrote.

Appeals of the decision can be filed until March 2.

Plans for a Subway restaurant near 46th and Baltimore are in serious jeopardy. The Zoning Board of Adjustment recently rejected a takeout certificate to an out-of-town franchise owner.

The franchise owner, who proposed a Subway location at 4533 Baltimore Ave., has 30 days to appeal the decision, which was handed down on Jan. 11.

Several community members and nearby residents protested the proposed restaurant, saying the increased traffic would affect properties adjacent to the proposed location.

Wilhelmina Herbert, president of the Garden Court Community Association, recently sent a letter notifying nearby residents of the decision and praising them for speaking out against the plans.

“Without community support this would not have been possible,” she wrote in a letter dated Jan. 18. “We have shown that we can come together to ensure the safety of our children, to protect our properties, and for the overall good of our neighborhood.  Our voices have been heard!”

The Subway franchisee’s application for a takeout certificate, which is required for any restaurant, was originally approved by the Spruce Hill Community Association in a December meeting. Herbert and others, many of whom said they were never notified of that meeting, asked that the ZBA postpone a decision in December to give them time to discuss the proposal.

Many residents who commented on neighborhood e-mail lists and an earlier story here opposed the Subway because it would have been the only chain restaurant among several locally owned businesses in that area of Baltimore Avenue. But residents who lived near the proposed locations, which has been home to several short-lived businesses in recent years, insisted that their primary concern was increased traffic.

Here’s a short roundup of some latest news from local restaurants, bars and cafés.

• University City Dining Days kicks off this Thursday (July 16), with over 30 restaurants participating in the event. During the 11-day promotion, you can choose a pre-fixe three-course dinner menu best suiting for your wallet: for $15 – at Dahlak, Desi Village, Dock Street Brewery, The Gold Standard Cafe, New Delhi, Vietnam Café, and more restaurants; for $25 – at 48th Street Grille, Doc Magrogan’s Oyster House, The Farmacy Rx, Han Dynasty, Harvest Seasonal, and more restaurants; or for $35 – at City Tap House, Distrito, Penne Restaurant & Wine Bar, Pod, and White Dog Cafe. Reservations should be made directly at participating businesses.

In addition, you can win some great prizes offered by the event organizer, University City District (UCD), including an iPod Touch, an Apple TV, and a $200 bundle of restaurant gift certificates. For more information go to: www.universitycity.org/university-city-dining-days.

• UCD has installed a new and the largest parklet in the area – on 40th Street between Walnut and Sansom, in front of the retail space that hosts several eateries, including Hai Street Kitchen, Jake’s Sandwich Board, and Zesto Pizza. The new parklet, designed by Shift_Design, measures about 60 feet long and is among the longest parklets ever constructed. Now you can enjoy your sushi burrito outside.

• We’ve been keeping an eye on the progress of Cafe Renata‘s opening at the new location near 46th and Baltimore. As we reported earlier, Renata co-owners Katie Steenstra and Yasser Aiq, were planning to open the new location this summer, after their old space near 43rd and Locust was heavily damaged in a fire in March. They even participated in the recent Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll (pictured right). It turns out, the opening will not happen until later this summer because Katie and Yasser are busy preparing for a big personal event – they’re getting married early next month! Once they’re “refreshed with marital bliss” they’ll be “back on the street” figuring out the opening date. We’ll keep you posted. By the way, the name of the new place is Renata’s Kitchen.

• The Gold Standard Café is hiring Front of House staff, including a busser/runner (for weekend brunch), a server (3-5 days a week), and a barista. Please drop off your resume in person at 4800 Baltimore Ave. or stop in and ask for an application on Monday-Friday from 10-10:30 a.m. or 2:30-5 p.m.. For more information, check out this Facebook post.

The Subway restaurant near 46th and Baltimore has closed along with several other spots owned by the same franchisee.

The restaurant, which became a focal point of controversy in late 2011 and early 2012, was one of four Subway locations that will close. But that doesn’t mean Subway is gone. The corporation that owns Subway is looking for another franchisee for the Baltimore Avenue location, according to Barry Grossbach, chair of the Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee.

The zoning committee initially supported Subway’s plan to open on Baltimore Avenue, arguing that it would provide a stable tenant. Nearby residents complained that it would increase traffic in the nearby alley. Others complained that a franchise was out of place on a commercial corridor that was largely made up of locally owned businesses.

In early 2012, Subway signed a 10-year lease on the storefront at 4533 Baltimore Ave., which has churned through businesses over the last several years.

– Mike Lyons, Andrew Foronda