Covina's 'Crashdown Cafe' may reopen downtown with new owner
By Jason Kosareff
Staff Writer
COVINA -- A defunct restaurant on Citrus Avenue may soon bustle with downtown diners if the building's owner and a Chino-based restaurateur come to an agreement, a city official said.
It's last incarnation was as a haven for a teen-ager with alien DNA and his friends as the Crashdown Cafe on the WB television show "Roswell," and several attempts have been made at running a restaurant at the location.
Dan Smith, owner of the building at 223 N. Citrus Ave., ran The Downtown Cafe out of it, but closed in May 1998. New York West was another attempt at a restaurant.
The city is eager to see a new restaurant open at the location near the heart of Covina's downtown redevelopment area.
"If there's anything that we can do to help them, we'll offer that to them," said Mike Marquez, Covina community development director.
"We'd like to see a restaurant come back in," said Mark Theil, president of the Covina Downtown Association.
Theil said a family-style restaurant would be preferred. Marquez said he is familiar with the operation that is considering the location and is satisfied that it compliments Covina's downtown area.
Smith is in negotiations with a restaurateur who Marquez declined to identify, but early reports to the city indicate the new restaurant would be a suitable fit for the downtown area.
"Everything is premature at this point," Marquez said. But, he added, "It seems real good."
Smith was not available for comment.
City officials became unhappy with Smith when he was late in paying back about $600,000 in loans from Covina government agencies. Smith eventually paid off the debts last year, about a year and a half after he closed The Downtown Cafe.
"He doesn't owe us one penny," Marquez said. "He's paid his debt in full."
Theil said the new restaurant operators should take advantage of city loans, just as Smith did.
"I think by all means they should take advantage of that," he said.
-- Jason Kosareff can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2717, or by e-mail at jason.kosareff@sgvn.com.
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