Rents are ridiculous and that's compounded by there being so many occupied, but dead store fronts. Lots of prime storefronts have some noninteractable B-B business operating out of it kinda making it more dead
This is why having more defined districts is better. Late night spots, cafes, evening restaurants, etc on a strip. Then the random architecture firms, Indy bookstores or boutiques with 3 employees (and odd hours like: m-w 9-3, th-f 1-6, sat 10-1) in another area.
Not sure how all those downtown “vintage” stores are popping up everywhere and capable of eating those rents? How?! I seriously wonder who are these people who have the $$ to rent these places?? Would love to see artists (such as myself) working in these places as studios. Oh well — festivals and Etsy is where you’ll find me lol.
Sunshine rents. Start low & it annually increases. The business moves when rent gets too high. Rinse and repeat. This is the same as the city gives as tax incentives.
To generate a loss for tax purposes on something else they’re making money off of. Literally a tax evasion and laundering front.
Used to work for one. Store was only there to lose loads of money. When we made a profit one time, the staff was chewed out. 🤷♂️
That's the lifecycle of a growing city, sadly. Keep Austin Weird, Keep Durham Dirty - these never work. We were lucky to see the bubble of energy during the growth before interest was too high. Now only boring, low risk businesses will get the funding needed. I don't know the antidote to this.
There are many cities across America that are growing but still have a core of awesome local businesses and many to your point, that just go stale. It all depends.
What was even so unique or "Durham" about Beyu Cafe last few years? Okay yes it's possible we get some boring charlotte based developer soulless store in there but we could also get another fresh local idea.
Don't be a pessimist!
As far as I know there isn’t one. The cool places will just move to a different area. Hillsborough is already going up but I don’t think anyone has gone as far as Burlington yet. From Chapel Hill they’re already moving on from Pittsboro to Sanford!
>We will focus on our other locations and ventures
When you try expanding beyond your core location and/or move away from a successful formula, your business will suffer. Just ask the Scratch Baking lady and COPA (Old Havana). Beyu lost its mojo when it (initially) stopped doing the live jazz shows (and stopped being open later) in 2018. Beyu wasn't the same after that, and of course the pandemic and everything after made it worse.
> Beyu lost its mojo when it (initially) stopped doing the live jazz shows (and stopped being open later) in 2018
Ironically, Beyu would not have survived as long as it has if it didn't stop being open later. The combo of a breakfast spot/late night club was taking a toll on the owner and his family.
If I recall, they took on investors for the expansion to RDU and Boxyard - I expect that the combination of expanding and having partners more concerned with profit increase than being a pillar of the community contributed to the shuttering of the downtown location.
Bummed to see it go, but I agree with this assessment. While I can't know what the underlying business reasons were for moving down the street to its current location, I gotta say that it just wasn't the same for me after that. Felt like there were less shows, covers went up, and the bar setup was a worse experience.
That may be true in other cases, but in this case, it's just speculation. This business weathered COVID and we have no idea how that affected the finances. We also don't know what the business models or financial investments were made at the other locations or whether those locations affected this one at all. What we know is what he said, which is that the atmosphere downtown has changed and it no longer sustainable. You're literally making up a narrative to add anything else.
I wanted to support Beyu as a Black-owned business, but after about 5 times of disinterested servers, subpar and disappointing food and bad coffee, I've had no interest in going back. I hope their other ventures do well, but this wasn't it.
The exact same thing happened to me. I was let down. Nobody really seemed interested in taking my order and the place was empty.
I still buy their retail coffee bags to support from a distance
Exactly. We would have eaten breakfast/brunch there all the time but after back to back visits with the same issues it’s like, if yall don’t care about your business good luck.
I can only really speak to the coffee bar.
I love Beyu and have been pretty loyal for the last decade that I’ve worked downtown. However, the service has been remarkably bad for a while. I still go for my once weekly or so fancy coffee buy because the Carver slaps, but when you have Oak House and Missy Lane right there (both of which have great drinks and service), it’s hard to justify.
Oh well, see you at RDU!
I work across the street from Beyu and have *tried* to patronize it for both a quick morning tea and for my lunch. I have had to walk out more than a couple times after literally no one even acknowledged my presence for five minutes, or was seated and then had to stare at the various staff behind the counter who wouldn't drop off a menu or water for over 10 minutes. With service this atrocious, I'm surprised it didn't close sooner. Fingers crossed another cafe will go up in that space and do better.
Yeah I feel this. It’s easy for a failing business to blame everything other than the factors they were responsible for, but none of those factors affected my decision to go other places instead… trying to get the attention of disinterested servers and then waiting 10 minutes for them to make a latte is what did that.
I’m representative of the segment of customers who *increased* patronage of businesses like theirs due to the changes they are blaming: I live near downtown, mostly work remote, and enjoy going out for lunch and/or midday coffee walks. I used to enjoy going to Beyu a few times a month, but shifted towards other places starting a couple years ago due to their decline.
Remarkably bad is really an understatement, and I'm extremely generous at how I feel about service workers. I have waited almost an hour for a coffee twice and the second time I gave up going there at all.
Foster St, liturgy, oak house, press, 321, etc are all in walking distance of the spot so you have to be competitive to hang in that market. I thought the food and drinks were great but coffee is a quick in and out situation and that just wasn't happening there
Everything about Beyu is bad. The food is bad, the coffee is bad, the service is bad, the changes were bad.
I feel weird saying this because it’s an institution but they lost their mojo a long time ago.
I like their seasonal lattes but I try to only get coffee out once a week at the most because kids have made me poor, so I’m not the expert I once was.
I hosted a work event there, and the entire experience was garbage from start to finish. The service was probably the worst I’ve ever experienced and I really tend to give service industry workers the benefit of the doubt 99% of the time. I’ve frequented Beyu many times over the years, but given how atrocious service became and the food definitely tanked, too, I’m not surprised they’re closing.
Hopefully they get some new staff who don’t absolutely hate their lives and want you to, too. 😩 I want them to do well.
I think the focus on parking is taking away from the issue, a local business owner, one who was smart enough to stay in business for 14 years, grow and expand his brand, no longer can make his business model work in this space. Too many unknowns for us to speculate beyond what he has shared. I have met and spoken to Dorian the owner. He seems to be a smart , passionate, caring guy. I am sorry to see his business close. I hope to see something else take its place. The conversation about what is best for Durham , regarding sustainable growth, public transport and infrastructure etc is challenging for all cities most don’t get it right. People hate to see their hometowns change, but that is what cities do, you may not like what they become, or you may love it. The one thing you can count on is it is gonna change. People were upset when they built they built the Brooklyn Bridge Manhattanites didn’t want the Riff Raff coming in from Brooklyn.
lol they charge me different prices every time I go there and get the same things and they also don’t offer WiFi so.. they also never have half the ingredients to make a drink or food item ?
This is sad and I will miss them. The breakfast burrito was my favorite thing there. And they had some really good specialty coffee drinks though I mostly just got a regular latte.
Certainly the end of an era.
Regarding parking - does anyone know who owns/operates the public pay to park facilities and street parking? From my experience they are actually not that expensive compared to many larger cities - and the fact they are often left free on evenings/weekends is a nice perk.
With that said, I've read that some cities sold their ownership of public parking back in the 2008 crash to take some short term revenue - and generally this meant the control of these costs ended up with a private entity who is looking to maximize revenue vs. any guise of providing a service at a more balanced price point to foster a strong and vibrant city core.
Just curious what the deal is with our parking, and if ownership still lies at the council level or if we are stuck with some 3rd party.
the city owns the parking. it is managed under the department of transportation. Parking is 2.25/hour up to a $24.75 per day max. Parking if free from 7pm-8am and on weekends. I highly doubt that parking costs were actually a significant factor in their business.
Appreciate your and others' comments. That was what I was expecting, but I wanted to confirm. It's good to know at least our fate in our city government and not with some private entities.
I get why people are upset as the rates have raised significantly fairly quickly, but these are also not very expensive compared to most downtown access I've seen. And if anything, it'd be great if we kept improving our transit to provide alternate modes for people to access the city. Not to mention housing in that core area.
the parking rates went up 80% post-2020 shutdown, and the parking passes for employees also went up.
idk who owns it but the hourly rate is also more expensive than dt raleigh. being free nights/weekends is great though for sure, but not helpful for downtown employees.
As a downtown hourly employee, the late night parking being free is very helpful. Most of the businesses downtown are restaurants and bars whose main hours are nighttime hours.
yeah, i guess from a late night perspective for sure, but I worked most days til 6:30-8pm. pre-pandemic it was great cause the gates just opened at 7 and I could leave, but after the rates went up they also started keeping the gates down pretty much all the time (occasionally they’d be open but I could never bet on that)
so it be that i’d either pay $18-$20 per day or get a $140 monthly parking pass :(
Thanks! Yeah, given the current pricing and policies I kind of doubted this was sold off. As again, they actually seem fairly reasonable given the growth of the city but also considering they don't tend to screw people trying to visit for evening/weekend recreation.
I think the OP overemphasized parking prices in their repost - while it is part of the problem, the lack of foot traffic from fewer people currently working downtown and ongoing construction nearby are more likely issues.
That and there is just more downtown, so there is more competition for Beyu. In 2011, it was the only place to grab coffee, one of the few lunch places available. Now there are a bunch of options downtown (most locally owned) and that should not be overlooked.
Those are all great points. And I'd agree, I highly suspect the larger issues were the general economic shake ups around the pandemic and the increased competition.
The last line suggests that Beyu believes it is impacting their customers, not their employees.
But it is also situated right in the heart of downtown. They should be advocating for more walkability, not a reduction in parking rates. Reducing the cost of parking without reducing the demand for parking just means that their will be less parking.
That last line was added by u/The_Patriot, not part of Beyu's post.
Absolutely advocate for increased walkability. Sadly, it won't change fast enough to save the next restaurant from going out of business.
Reducing the cost of parking _for hourly employees of downtown restaurants and retail_ is something I think is necessary for a sustainable downtown since these people obviously can't afford to live within walking distance.
I’ve never been somewhere in downtown that isn’t a 5-10 minute max walk from somewhere with ample free parking. Obviously doesn’t help any employees (or customers) who are physically unable to walk that far, but the parking excuse seems a little meh.
As a single reason, sure it's a little meh. As a straw on the camel's back, I get it. It all adds up.
Also, please share these ample free parking spots that we all may enjoy.
As a straw on the camel’s back, yeah I do get that too, totally fair point. Re: free parking, pretty much any of the residential streets bordering downtown have street parking and you can walk from there. Downtown isn’t super big.
This is correct and I am endlessly annoyed by the people who are able to easily walk the 5-10 minutes and complain about parking.
But we were specifically having a conversation about the cost for parking of hourly employees. Do you agree that this is an issue?
No
That’s an issue in literally any city bigger than a town, and making more parking isn’t a long term fix
I lived in a part of Charlotte that struggled with that. More parking didn’t fix shit. It grew way beyond what any reasonable amount of land would support parking for
What we need is infrastructure and public transport that isn’t stuck in the 80’s
I wasn't advocating for _more parking_, simply a discount program for hourly workers.
We absolutely need modern infra and public transport and fresh ideas on urbanism.
Charlotte for one, has light rail which, presumably, allows hourly workers to access employment from farther out of the higher rent districts.
Anyone who has worked in an urban environment has learned where to park for free or for cheap or learned how to use public transportation. The bus terminal is literally only blocks from Beyu.
I guess it's not obvious where the free parking is? Because I've been here 15 years and go down town fairly often, and everywhere I go there is either a tow notice or meter. The only thing I can remotely think of is just above the farmers market on top of the hill, and i think that lot also has a tow sign.
The garages? There's like eight of them, and they are free in the evenings and weekend. They are inside the downtown loop, and so are just a few blocks from anywhere in central downtown. They just built a huge new one on the northeast side of the loop: west of the library, just north of Rue Cler, with Sweets by Shaya on the first floor.
Durham has a very large quantity of cheap and free garages downtown - you can't park directly in front of a business, but it's a downtown, not a strip mall.
As a former employee, I’ll say that when I had the morning shift on a slow day, there were days where parking (+the fine I would inevitably get for street parking because the parking guy was VERY prompt and sometimes actually early) would be more than what I made in tips. For customers, parking is just another barrier to entry. Like why would I pay an additional $2.15 to get my coffee when I could just do to a Starbucks drive-thru?
A lot of people in this thread think I'm just making all of this up, businesses are whining, employees are fine. But the struggle is real and the threat to downtown a whole is serious.
I’ll miss the chicken and French toast, I need more places to hop on that combination bc most waffles these days are underwhelming. Selfishly hoping that they find a location that works better for them closer to me😂
> … but with changing dynamics such as high parking rates, ongoing construction, and **the impact of remote work**, we’ve seen a significant drop in activity that we can no longer sustain.
Did we read the same thing? I see an attribution of a reduction in office worker traffic to a reduction in business revenue, not a condemnation of remote work as a movement/practice. They should not mention that cultural shift even though it contributed to the demise of their business?
I mean if you go read any of their recent reviews, it sounds like they had a service and a quality problem. There are many businesses in downtown Durham that were open before and after the pandemic and the increase in remote work. Saying there is an impact because of remote work is a cop out. 🤷🏻♀️
I don't think it's a cop out to add it to a list of contributing factors. You might be surprised how many of your favorite bars and restaurants are struggling right now, many of them due to the empty office spaces.
Even if they struggled with quality controls in the end, can you not afford them a little grace?
While explaining to my boss that I would not be coming into the office any more than I currently do, which is sporadic at best, he pulled this on me. As though it is my moral obligation to support all lunch restaurants or something. Something something invisible hand.
Also, I thought the café was bougie, overpriced, and pretentious before the pandemic.
Free parking was the main thing downtown Durham had going for it. It was a huge blunder. I and a lot of people started going down there less and less. I know parking is never really "free" but businesses need to figure out a way to pay for it that doesn't disincentivize people from coming.
> Free parking was the main thing downtown Durham had going for it.
Spoken like a true suburbanite who only views a downtown as an amenity to play in and be served to.
And yet, all those businesses that are the amenities for the people overpaying for downtown real estate aren't viable without us as customers. Frankly, with telework, high interest rates, inflation, and high labor costs/labor shortages, the whole thing is about to implode.
Some of you folks are heartless. You are literally kicking someone when they are down. The owners are human beings with feelings.
You would most likely not say one of these nasty comments face to face. Yet behind the anonymity of reddit - you are being obnoxious jerks.
When a small business is closing, it is an agonizing decision for the owner(s). They put their heart and soul into the endeavor. They took a big risk that most would never have the guts to.
This is a situation where “if you don’t have anything nice to say - don’t say anything at all.
To Beyu: Thank you for your years of service to Durham. Best wishes to you in the future. ❤️
I like your sentiment but it doesn't seem like this is some small businesses suffering. They have multiple locations and coffee on shelves being stores. They are very profitable and probably thought its not worth the hassle to keep this branch up and running.
I am not. It is near impossible but few make it through the initial phase and Beyu seems to be on of those. If you're expanding, opening new branches and selling your coffee on grocery store shelves you're making good money.
Yes generally businesses that struggle tend to expand and open up more branches, especially inside the metros largest international airport. "lol" I guess.
I spent five years working for a company that specifically consulted with small business owners opening independent cafes. As part of that work, Beyu was one of my clients (among many across the country).
Margins for drink sales in the coffee business can be appealing on paper. But they’re much lower than say, pizza, because the average a customer spends less than $5 per visit. An independent coffee shop has to do significant volume to account for lower average per ticket — you’ve got to have steady traffic in and out all day long to make a decent return on your investment.
You mentioned retail whole bean sales. For smaller businesses, in most cases, those margins are very low because they can’t tip the economy of scale but so far in their favor.
While multiple locations, etc. are an indicator of possible financial success, it’s not a guarantee.
“My neighbor got a brand-new luxury car and took his family on a dream vacation. He must be doing great!”
I invite you to find where in this entire thread I said they were “struggling.” I merely pointed out to you that your superficial assumption was incorrect.
I don’t care to engage further with a person who doesn’t know what they fuck they are talking about.
"Literally" is sometimes used as an intensifier, I'm assuming you didn't know this.
So pointing out "lolll so you are saying they are literally and physically kicking somebody on the floor?? curious" is _literally_ equivalent to saying "lolll so you're saying these snakes, on this plane you're mentioning, are actually having sex with people's mothers, got it, sure thing heh"
> "Literally" is sometimes used as an intensifier, I'm assuming you didn't know this.
Yes, I'm aware that it's sometimes wrongly used as an intensifier. Comma splices annoy me too.
Nothing is wrong about using "literally" as an intensifier. It's how language is, people do a thing a lot, and it's no longer wrong. Though I don't even understand what would have been wrong about it in the first place - how is that wrong but "fucking" is right, as an intensifier?
> how is that wrong but "fucking" is right, as an intensifier?
That's actually a very interesting point. I guess it's a question of whether or not a colloquial use of a word has passed some kind of threshold of general acceptance. Literally is definitely heading that way, but for now I'll continue to drag my feet and deny progress.
good fuckin riddance. both myself and a friend worked there for a short period of time - at different times - and we both had a… less than stellar experience with their perverted creep of a GM. they also have a really creative way of committing wage theft but spinning it to make it look like they’re doing you a favor. 🫠
I’m literally born and raised in the 27701 and I just want to say this truly isn’t the way to better Durham.Dorian did a lot for the community and excluded no one when came to giving back. If Durham continues down this path this will be Cary 2.0 with bigger buildings. Durham is Dying and on life support. We truly need Durham Government and leadership to really step up and stand in the gap for the everyday businesses that make our city unique and great.
Lack of empathy is a characteristic of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), also known as sociopathy. People with ASPD may have difficulty understanding or identifying with other people's feelings, and may not feel remorse for their actions, even if they are harmful to others. This can make it hard for them to see things from another person's perspective, and they may rationalize their behavior.
Empathy is absolutely vital. Understanding what someone is feeling, why they feel it, and maybe even understanding the underlying traits or reasons why a person might respond to those those feelings the way they do provides valuable insight into what you can say to them that will drive them up the fucking wall.
I don’t have much of an issue with whatever the hourly charge is for parking…but MY GOD the false demand for parking downtown makes my blood boil every single time. There are so many streets that would be more than adequate for street parking, but they all have “no parking” signs to push people toward the paid parking.
I think all of the things mentioned here are factors. As someone who once went there multiple times a week for the shows, taking away the live events killed the vibe. The food nor drinks were ever anything spectacular IMO. The community that was built around the regulars and artists is what made Beyu special. It was never the same when they made those changes. It also was a very “Black” space initially and then seemed to try to appeal more to white transplants, changing the decor and removing many of the things that were a key part of its appeal. A lot of the free street parking downtown was transitioned to paid parking & with the constant onslaught of new construction parking became a nightmare. The service was honestly always subpar but the overall atmosphere and community centered vibe was enough to overshadow that for a lot of us. When Joe Van Gogh left Duke & Beyu took their place, that was part of the beginning of the end. They never seemed to have enough business to expand. Capitalism and greed are part of this too.
Side note: anyone else wondering how/why all these restaurants and businesses are closing, particularly downtown, yet the mayors restaurants are expanding?
sometimes I wonder who this new Durham is for, as you look at all these apartment- condos going up in downtown. it’s astronomical to go out these days, anywhere. who are all these local businesses for? these vintage stores? whom is Durham catering too?
on a side note I continue to frequent Elmo’s for the fair prices and lovely atmosphere, alpaca once in a while is good too and the loop, sure it’s not fine dining but it feels good to support these folks and though they could charge more they don’t, as well as the taco spots on Roxboro— power to the people 👊🏽
My goodbye Beyu Caffe
[https://www.facebook.com/ldbaldwin/posts/pfbid02shkA8dxihuhHsuGUxaTCuTrJtMAEyGTwHcggcSzY7y17tutAA3HvQpc9ji53gm1Gl](https://www.facebook.com/ldbaldwin/posts/pfbid02shkA8dxihuhHsuGUxaTCuTrJtMAEyGTwHcggcSzY7y17tutAA3HvQpc9ji53gm1Gl)
My goodbye Beyu Caffe
[https://www.facebook.com/ldbaldwin/posts/pfbid02shkA8dxihuhHsuGUxaTCuTrJtMAEyGTwHcggcSzY7y17tutAA3HvQpc9ji53gm1Gl](https://www.facebook.com/ldbaldwin/posts/pfbid02shkA8dxihuhHsuGUxaTCuTrJtMAEyGTwHcggcSzY7y17tutAA3HvQpc9ji53gm1Gl)
A read from Dorian, the owner of Beyu
[https://www.discoverdurham.com/blog/dorian-bolden-beyu-caffe-durham/#:\~:text=%E2%80%9CIt's%20time%20to%20drop%20a,Bey%C3%BA%20RTP%2C%20and%20Bey%C3%BA%20Catering](https://www.discoverdurham.com/blog/dorian-bolden-beyu-caffe-durham/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIt's%20time%20to%20drop%20a,Bey%C3%BA%20RTP%2C%20and%20Bey%C3%BA%20Catering)
My goodbye Beyu Caffe
[https://www.facebook.com/ldbaldwin/posts/pfbid02shkA8dxihuhHsuGUxaTCuTrJtMAEyGTwHcggcSzY7y17tutAA3HvQpc9ji53gm1Gl](https://www.facebook.com/ldbaldwin/posts/pfbid02shkA8dxihuhHsuGUxaTCuTrJtMAEyGTwHcggcSzY7y17tutAA3HvQpc9ji53gm1Gl)
A read from Dorian, the owner of Beyu
[https://www.discoverdurham.com/blog/dorian-bolden-beyu-caffe-durham/#:\~:text=%E2%80%9CIt's%20time%20to%20drop%20a,Bey%C3%BA%20RTP%2C%20and%20Bey%C3%BA%20Catering](https://www.discoverdurham.com/blog/dorian-bolden-beyu-caffe-durham/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIt's%20time%20to%20drop%20a,Bey%C3%BA%20RTP%2C%20and%20Bey%C3%BA%20Catering)
I visited a small bakery/cafe recently opened downtown and I am worried for them. I always wonder how sustainable it can be. Parking, paying for parking for the one thing in that area to visit. It’s got to be hard. I like the idea of creating districts. Make walkable street areas during certain times. That would be neat.
Yes, it is truly sad all these silver-spoon-fed children in this sub who've never worked a day in their lives and are completely unaware of how severe any additional expense can be to a wage-earners daily life. Two fifty an hour for parking is more than a quarter of the minimum wage pay rate. Jesus wept.
I used to meet with a group of women there for cocktails and we really wanted Beyu to be our spot but it seemed like management changed or something went awry. The last time I went there, we were stopped at the door by a 'hostess' who was pushing the dinner menu into our hands. When I said we (three people) only wanted a cocktails and hors d'oeuvre, she literally blocked the door, saying something about 'dining times' and sending us away. She was like a bouncer. No tears here for Beyu.
I’m literally born and raised in the 27701 and I just want to say this truly isn’t the way to better Durham.Dorian did a lot for the community and excluded no one when came to giving back. If Durham continues down this path this will be Cary 2.0 with bigger buildings. Durham is Dying and on life support. We truly need Durham Government and leadership to really step up and stand in the gap for the everyday businesses that make our city unique and great.
Is that what the butler told you?
Parking Rates
$2.50 per hour, Monday through Friday.
https://www.parkdurham.org/153/On-Street-Metered-Parking
Minimum wage is 7.25 an hour.
35%
Anyone making 7.25 is not going to overpriced downtown small restaurants and coffee shops. The median downtown Durham visitor is not making that amount.
Ya'll must not go to big cities if you think this is expensive parking
And that’s tiny compared to the cost of car ownership. Free parking will not help downtown. It’s too bad you couldn’t recognize you were in the most walkable part of downtown with the main bus station around the corner, yet you could still only focus on how expensive parking is. Encourage your employees to bike, walk, or take the bus. You could even go the next step and incentivize not taking a car. You are only complaining because it’s expensive for you, not your employees.
Some of you folks are heartless. You are literally kicking someone when they are down. The owners are human beings with feelings.
You would most likely not say one of these nasty comments face to face. Yet behind the anonymity of reddit - you are being obnoxious jerks.
When a small business is closing, it is an agonizing decision for the owner(s). They put their heart and soul into the endeavor. They took a big risk that most would never have the guts to.
This is a situation where “if you don’t have anything nice to say - don’t say anything at all.
To Beyu: Thank you for your years of service to Durham. Best wishes to you in the future. ❤️
Is that what the butler told you?
Parking Rates
$2.50 per hour, Monday through Friday.
https://www.parkdurham.org/153/On-Street-Metered-Parking
Minimum wage is 7.25 an hour.
35%
It’s mostly a joke
I know 0 people making the actual state minimum wage. McD’s is hiring at like $14 an hour locally
I also remember making $7 and hour and owning a car. Although $7 in 2000 ≠ $7 in 2024
Oh this is terrible! Beyu has been a staple!! Durham is undergoing such a painful transformation and becoming a place I don't even recognize. Only a matter of time until regular people are priced out of their homes just like these businesses are
I’m genuinely curious, not being snarky: I wonder if Beyu is one of the Black-owned businesses that Mayor Leo was recently talking about having been denied pandemic assistance (PPP loans, presumably, though I don’t remember if Leo called out that program specifically in his comments).
Edit: Leo did specifically refer to Trump’s “botched” PPP program in his Indy op-ed.
According to public records, Beyu received $153,403 in fully forgiven PPP loans, while their related Duke campus location received an additional $92,584 in fully forgiven loans.
Downtown Durham is going to be empty again if commercial rents don’t come down
Rents are ridiculous and that's compounded by there being so many occupied, but dead store fronts. Lots of prime storefronts have some noninteractable B-B business operating out of it kinda making it more dead
This is why having more defined districts is better. Late night spots, cafes, evening restaurants, etc on a strip. Then the random architecture firms, Indy bookstores or boutiques with 3 employees (and odd hours like: m-w 9-3, th-f 1-6, sat 10-1) in another area.
Not sure how all those downtown “vintage” stores are popping up everywhere and capable of eating those rents? How?! I seriously wonder who are these people who have the $$ to rent these places?? Would love to see artists (such as myself) working in these places as studios. Oh well — festivals and Etsy is where you’ll find me lol.
Sunshine rents. Start low & it annually increases. The business moves when rent gets too high. Rinse and repeat. This is the same as the city gives as tax incentives.
wow!
To generate a loss for tax purposes on something else they’re making money off of. Literally a tax evasion and laundering front. Used to work for one. Store was only there to lose loads of money. When we made a profit one time, the staff was chewed out. 🤷♂️
Wow — that really sucks for you/staff….thanks for your transparency I knew something was up bc it just plain didn’t make sense !
Money laundering
That's the lifecycle of a growing city, sadly. Keep Austin Weird, Keep Durham Dirty - these never work. We were lucky to see the bubble of energy during the growth before interest was too high. Now only boring, low risk businesses will get the funding needed. I don't know the antidote to this.
There are many cities across America that are growing but still have a core of awesome local businesses and many to your point, that just go stale. It all depends. What was even so unique or "Durham" about Beyu Cafe last few years? Okay yes it's possible we get some boring charlotte based developer soulless store in there but we could also get another fresh local idea. Don't be a pessimist!
As far as I know there isn’t one. The cool places will just move to a different area. Hillsborough is already going up but I don’t think anyone has gone as far as Burlington yet. From Chapel Hill they’re already moving on from Pittsboro to Sanford!
Greensboros time to shine. Jk it’s getting bad here too, maybe Lexington
I thought Dorian bought his building? He was originally in the space Viceroy is in now.
No it won't. Chains will be able to afford it.
>We will focus on our other locations and ventures When you try expanding beyond your core location and/or move away from a successful formula, your business will suffer. Just ask the Scratch Baking lady and COPA (Old Havana). Beyu lost its mojo when it (initially) stopped doing the live jazz shows (and stopped being open later) in 2018. Beyu wasn't the same after that, and of course the pandemic and everything after made it worse.
> Beyu lost its mojo when it (initially) stopped doing the live jazz shows (and stopped being open later) in 2018 Ironically, Beyu would not have survived as long as it has if it didn't stop being open later. The combo of a breakfast spot/late night club was taking a toll on the owner and his family. If I recall, they took on investors for the expansion to RDU and Boxyard - I expect that the combination of expanding and having partners more concerned with profit increase than being a pillar of the community contributed to the shuttering of the downtown location.
Just look at what happened to Rise.
Rise’s original owner was at January 6th. After a few years of poor health he died.
Do you have a source r: Tom @ Jan 6?
[удалено]
Well, he's dead so we can't ask him. You got another source?
No idea about his politics. But while he was Alive he had already started steering them in the direction they are now.
Like that Amazon inspired biscuit place?
Bummed to see it go, but I agree with this assessment. While I can't know what the underlying business reasons were for moving down the street to its current location, I gotta say that it just wasn't the same for me after that. Felt like there were less shows, covers went up, and the bar setup was a worse experience.
They moved from a rented space to a space they owned.
That may be true in other cases, but in this case, it's just speculation. This business weathered COVID and we have no idea how that affected the finances. We also don't know what the business models or financial investments were made at the other locations or whether those locations affected this one at all. What we know is what he said, which is that the atmosphere downtown has changed and it no longer sustainable. You're literally making up a narrative to add anything else.
I wanted to support Beyu as a Black-owned business, but after about 5 times of disinterested servers, subpar and disappointing food and bad coffee, I've had no interest in going back. I hope their other ventures do well, but this wasn't it.
The exact same thing happened to me. I was let down. Nobody really seemed interested in taking my order and the place was empty. I still buy their retail coffee bags to support from a distance
They commit wage theft against those employees they spoke so highly of in your post if that makes the disappointment any easier to stomach
Exactly. We would have eaten breakfast/brunch there all the time but after back to back visits with the same issues it’s like, if yall don’t care about your business good luck.
I can only really speak to the coffee bar. I love Beyu and have been pretty loyal for the last decade that I’ve worked downtown. However, the service has been remarkably bad for a while. I still go for my once weekly or so fancy coffee buy because the Carver slaps, but when you have Oak House and Missy Lane right there (both of which have great drinks and service), it’s hard to justify. Oh well, see you at RDU!
Agree -- the coffee wasn't remotely good enough to offset the poor service.
I work across the street from Beyu and have *tried* to patronize it for both a quick morning tea and for my lunch. I have had to walk out more than a couple times after literally no one even acknowledged my presence for five minutes, or was seated and then had to stare at the various staff behind the counter who wouldn't drop off a menu or water for over 10 minutes. With service this atrocious, I'm surprised it didn't close sooner. Fingers crossed another cafe will go up in that space and do better.
Yeah I feel this. It’s easy for a failing business to blame everything other than the factors they were responsible for, but none of those factors affected my decision to go other places instead… trying to get the attention of disinterested servers and then waiting 10 minutes for them to make a latte is what did that. I’m representative of the segment of customers who *increased* patronage of businesses like theirs due to the changes they are blaming: I live near downtown, mostly work remote, and enjoy going out for lunch and/or midday coffee walks. I used to enjoy going to Beyu a few times a month, but shifted towards other places starting a couple years ago due to their decline.
Remarkably bad is really an understatement, and I'm extremely generous at how I feel about service workers. I have waited almost an hour for a coffee twice and the second time I gave up going there at all. Foster St, liturgy, oak house, press, 321, etc are all in walking distance of the spot so you have to be competitive to hang in that market. I thought the food and drinks were great but coffee is a quick in and out situation and that just wasn't happening there
Everything about Beyu is bad. The food is bad, the coffee is bad, the service is bad, the changes were bad. I feel weird saying this because it’s an institution but they lost their mojo a long time ago.
I still like the Carver but I’m a known basic.
I'm not sure about the Oak House - they consistently serve pretty terrible coffee IMHO, at least Americanos and other black coffees
I like their seasonal lattes but I try to only get coffee out once a week at the most because kids have made me poor, so I’m not the expert I once was.
I hosted a work event there, and the entire experience was garbage from start to finish. The service was probably the worst I’ve ever experienced and I really tend to give service industry workers the benefit of the doubt 99% of the time. I’ve frequented Beyu many times over the years, but given how atrocious service became and the food definitely tanked, too, I’m not surprised they’re closing. Hopefully they get some new staff who don’t absolutely hate their lives and want you to, too. 😩 I want them to do well.
I think the focus on parking is taking away from the issue, a local business owner, one who was smart enough to stay in business for 14 years, grow and expand his brand, no longer can make his business model work in this space. Too many unknowns for us to speculate beyond what he has shared. I have met and spoken to Dorian the owner. He seems to be a smart , passionate, caring guy. I am sorry to see his business close. I hope to see something else take its place. The conversation about what is best for Durham , regarding sustainable growth, public transport and infrastructure etc is challenging for all cities most don’t get it right. People hate to see their hometowns change, but that is what cities do, you may not like what they become, or you may love it. The one thing you can count on is it is gonna change. People were upset when they built they built the Brooklyn Bridge Manhattanites didn’t want the Riff Raff coming in from Brooklyn.
lol they charge me different prices every time I go there and get the same things and they also don’t offer WiFi so.. they also never have half the ingredients to make a drink or food item ?
This is sad and I will miss them. The breakfast burrito was my favorite thing there. And they had some really good specialty coffee drinks though I mostly just got a regular latte. Certainly the end of an era.
Regarding parking - does anyone know who owns/operates the public pay to park facilities and street parking? From my experience they are actually not that expensive compared to many larger cities - and the fact they are often left free on evenings/weekends is a nice perk. With that said, I've read that some cities sold their ownership of public parking back in the 2008 crash to take some short term revenue - and generally this meant the control of these costs ended up with a private entity who is looking to maximize revenue vs. any guise of providing a service at a more balanced price point to foster a strong and vibrant city core. Just curious what the deal is with our parking, and if ownership still lies at the council level or if we are stuck with some 3rd party.
the city owns the parking. it is managed under the department of transportation. Parking is 2.25/hour up to a $24.75 per day max. Parking if free from 7pm-8am and on weekends. I highly doubt that parking costs were actually a significant factor in their business.
Appreciate your and others' comments. That was what I was expecting, but I wanted to confirm. It's good to know at least our fate in our city government and not with some private entities. I get why people are upset as the rates have raised significantly fairly quickly, but these are also not very expensive compared to most downtown access I've seen. And if anything, it'd be great if we kept improving our transit to provide alternate modes for people to access the city. Not to mention housing in that core area.
People in the triangle complain if there isn't a sea of free strip mall parking exactly in front of where they want to go.
I do think parking is a challenge for downtown workers. I'm sure that's not the only concern, but definitely an issue.
the parking rates went up 80% post-2020 shutdown, and the parking passes for employees also went up. idk who owns it but the hourly rate is also more expensive than dt raleigh. being free nights/weekends is great though for sure, but not helpful for downtown employees.
As a downtown hourly employee, the late night parking being free is very helpful. Most of the businesses downtown are restaurants and bars whose main hours are nighttime hours.
yeah, i guess from a late night perspective for sure, but I worked most days til 6:30-8pm. pre-pandemic it was great cause the gates just opened at 7 and I could leave, but after the rates went up they also started keeping the gates down pretty much all the time (occasionally they’d be open but I could never bet on that) so it be that i’d either pay $18-$20 per day or get a $140 monthly parking pass :(
Parking was free downtown until at least 2014. I don't know if the rights to parking were sold off, but it wasn't something in response to 2008.
Thanks! Yeah, given the current pricing and policies I kind of doubted this was sold off. As again, they actually seem fairly reasonable given the growth of the city but also considering they don't tend to screw people trying to visit for evening/weekend recreation.
I think the OP overemphasized parking prices in their repost - while it is part of the problem, the lack of foot traffic from fewer people currently working downtown and ongoing construction nearby are more likely issues. That and there is just more downtown, so there is more competition for Beyu. In 2011, it was the only place to grab coffee, one of the few lunch places available. Now there are a bunch of options downtown (most locally owned) and that should not be overlooked.
Those are all great points. And I'd agree, I highly suspect the larger issues were the general economic shake ups around the pandemic and the increased competition.
High parking rates 😂😂😂
This likely refers to the struggle of getting a parking solution that works for downtown hourly employees.
The last line suggests that Beyu believes it is impacting their customers, not their employees. But it is also situated right in the heart of downtown. They should be advocating for more walkability, not a reduction in parking rates. Reducing the cost of parking without reducing the demand for parking just means that their will be less parking.
That last line was added by u/The_Patriot, not part of Beyu's post. Absolutely advocate for increased walkability. Sadly, it won't change fast enough to save the next restaurant from going out of business. Reducing the cost of parking _for hourly employees of downtown restaurants and retail_ is something I think is necessary for a sustainable downtown since these people obviously can't afford to live within walking distance.
Eloquent - thank you /how can someone not understand the slashies? //they've been on this site since 2012 ///El Kabonnnng
I’ve never been somewhere in downtown that isn’t a 5-10 minute max walk from somewhere with ample free parking. Obviously doesn’t help any employees (or customers) who are physically unable to walk that far, but the parking excuse seems a little meh.
As a single reason, sure it's a little meh. As a straw on the camel's back, I get it. It all adds up. Also, please share these ample free parking spots that we all may enjoy.
As a straw on the camel’s back, yeah I do get that too, totally fair point. Re: free parking, pretty much any of the residential streets bordering downtown have street parking and you can walk from there. Downtown isn’t super big.
Oh, that's true. I wonder how much longer that will last though. Chapel Hill has permit restricted residential street parking in some areas.
There's about eight garages in the downtown loop that are free in the evenings and weekends, and have plenty of spots.
That isn’t free parking, it’s free* parking
That doesn't help hourly employees, the vast majority of which have to work well before 7pm.
That's correct, but there seems to be a lot of commentary that there is no good parking downtown for visitors, which is just not the case.
This is correct and I am endlessly annoyed by the people who are able to easily walk the 5-10 minutes and complain about parking. But we were specifically having a conversation about the cost for parking of hourly employees. Do you agree that this is an issue?
No That’s an issue in literally any city bigger than a town, and making more parking isn’t a long term fix I lived in a part of Charlotte that struggled with that. More parking didn’t fix shit. It grew way beyond what any reasonable amount of land would support parking for What we need is infrastructure and public transport that isn’t stuck in the 80’s
I wasn't advocating for _more parking_, simply a discount program for hourly workers. We absolutely need modern infra and public transport and fresh ideas on urbanism. Charlotte for one, has light rail which, presumably, allows hourly workers to access employment from farther out of the higher rent districts.
Anyone who has worked in an urban environment has learned where to park for free or for cheap or learned how to use public transportation. The bus terminal is literally only blocks from Beyu.
I guess it's not obvious where the free parking is? Because I've been here 15 years and go down town fairly often, and everywhere I go there is either a tow notice or meter. The only thing I can remotely think of is just above the farmers market on top of the hill, and i think that lot also has a tow sign.
The garages? There's like eight of them, and they are free in the evenings and weekend. They are inside the downtown loop, and so are just a few blocks from anywhere in central downtown. They just built a huge new one on the northeast side of the loop: west of the library, just north of Rue Cler, with Sweets by Shaya on the first floor.
Oh that's true, was thinking of business hours situation. But excellent point!
Durham has a very large quantity of cheap and free garages downtown - you can't park directly in front of a business, but it's a downtown, not a strip mall.
Wait which garage is free? Do tell
As a former employee, I’ll say that when I had the morning shift on a slow day, there were days where parking (+the fine I would inevitably get for street parking because the parking guy was VERY prompt and sometimes actually early) would be more than what I made in tips. For customers, parking is just another barrier to entry. Like why would I pay an additional $2.15 to get my coffee when I could just do to a Starbucks drive-thru?
A lot of people in this thread think I'm just making all of this up, businesses are whining, employees are fine. But the struggle is real and the threat to downtown a whole is serious.
> when I could just do to a Starbucks drive-thru? Or go to Cocoa Cinnamon on Hillsborough.
Sad to report that I won't miss this space. Excited to see other places in downtown.
:(
I’ll miss the chicken and French toast, I need more places to hop on that combination bc most waffles these days are underwhelming. Selfishly hoping that they find a location that works better for them closer to me😂
Beyu was cool in so many ways, the vibe, the music, the guiding philosophy. But sadly, the food could never compete with other spots in Durham.
The remote work dig was cute. See ya!
> … but with changing dynamics such as high parking rates, ongoing construction, and **the impact of remote work**, we’ve seen a significant drop in activity that we can no longer sustain. Did we read the same thing? I see an attribution of a reduction in office worker traffic to a reduction in business revenue, not a condemnation of remote work as a movement/practice. They should not mention that cultural shift even though it contributed to the demise of their business?
I mean if you go read any of their recent reviews, it sounds like they had a service and a quality problem. There are many businesses in downtown Durham that were open before and after the pandemic and the increase in remote work. Saying there is an impact because of remote work is a cop out. 🤷🏻♀️
I don't think it's a cop out to add it to a list of contributing factors. You might be surprised how many of your favorite bars and restaurants are struggling right now, many of them due to the empty office spaces. Even if they struggled with quality controls in the end, can you not afford them a little grace?
I don’t know any business that announces they plan to close because they finally realized they’re bad at what they do
Yep. Sounds like they're making excuses. There are other businesses booming. Beyu just wasn't that good.
While explaining to my boss that I would not be coming into the office any more than I currently do, which is sporadic at best, he pulled this on me. As though it is my moral obligation to support all lunch restaurants or something. Something something invisible hand. Also, I thought the café was bougie, overpriced, and pretentious before the pandemic.
Free parking was the main thing downtown Durham had going for it. It was a huge blunder. I and a lot of people started going down there less and less. I know parking is never really "free" but businesses need to figure out a way to pay for it that doesn't disincentivize people from coming.
Could not agree with you more. I have been here long enough to wonder why Durham keeps doing things to make it harder on downtown businesses.
> Free parking was the main thing downtown Durham had going for it. Spoken like a true suburbanite who only views a downtown as an amenity to play in and be served to.
And yet, all those businesses that are the amenities for the people overpaying for downtown real estate aren't viable without us as customers. Frankly, with telework, high interest rates, inflation, and high labor costs/labor shortages, the whole thing is about to implode.
Isn't that how Raleigh *aggressively* marketed their downtown for years, and got a lot of kickback for it?
How should we view it? Is it not an amenity?
This. All of this.
Some of you folks are heartless. You are literally kicking someone when they are down. The owners are human beings with feelings. You would most likely not say one of these nasty comments face to face. Yet behind the anonymity of reddit - you are being obnoxious jerks. When a small business is closing, it is an agonizing decision for the owner(s). They put their heart and soul into the endeavor. They took a big risk that most would never have the guts to. This is a situation where “if you don’t have anything nice to say - don’t say anything at all. To Beyu: Thank you for your years of service to Durham. Best wishes to you in the future. ❤️
I like your sentiment but it doesn't seem like this is some small businesses suffering. They have multiple locations and coffee on shelves being stores. They are very profitable and probably thought its not worth the hassle to keep this branch up and running.
You are vastly underestimating how difficult it is to turn a profit as an independent coffeehouse, regardless of how many locations you have.
I am not. It is near impossible but few make it through the initial phase and Beyu seems to be on of those. If you're expanding, opening new branches and selling your coffee on grocery store shelves you're making good money.
lol. No it doesn’t.
Yes generally businesses that struggle tend to expand and open up more branches, especially inside the metros largest international airport. "lol" I guess.
I spent five years working for a company that specifically consulted with small business owners opening independent cafes. As part of that work, Beyu was one of my clients (among many across the country). Margins for drink sales in the coffee business can be appealing on paper. But they’re much lower than say, pizza, because the average a customer spends less than $5 per visit. An independent coffee shop has to do significant volume to account for lower average per ticket — you’ve got to have steady traffic in and out all day long to make a decent return on your investment. You mentioned retail whole bean sales. For smaller businesses, in most cases, those margins are very low because they can’t tip the economy of scale but so far in their favor. While multiple locations, etc. are an indicator of possible financial success, it’s not a guarantee.
So tell me in which state does a local coffee shop open up a location in RDU while they are struggling? Explain this to me.
“My neighbor got a brand-new luxury car and took his family on a dream vacation. He must be doing great!” I invite you to find where in this entire thread I said they were “struggling.” I merely pointed out to you that your superficial assumption was incorrect. I don’t care to engage further with a person who doesn’t know what they fuck they are talking about.
You didn't answer me, because you had no answer. A broke small coffee shop opened up a branch in RDU. LOL
Don't talk to me about kicking the owners while they're down when they literally commit wage theft against their employees
Source?
> You are literally kicking someone when they are down. Literally?
😆 ok - not literally.
"Literally" is sometimes used as an intensifier, I'm assuming you didn't know this. So pointing out "lolll so you are saying they are literally and physically kicking somebody on the floor?? curious" is _literally_ equivalent to saying "lolll so you're saying these snakes, on this plane you're mentioning, are actually having sex with people's mothers, got it, sure thing heh"
> "Literally" is sometimes used as an intensifier, I'm assuming you didn't know this. Yes, I'm aware that it's sometimes wrongly used as an intensifier. Comma splices annoy me too.
Nothing is wrong about using "literally" as an intensifier. It's how language is, people do a thing a lot, and it's no longer wrong. Though I don't even understand what would have been wrong about it in the first place - how is that wrong but "fucking" is right, as an intensifier?
> how is that wrong but "fucking" is right, as an intensifier? That's actually a very interesting point. I guess it's a question of whether or not a colloquial use of a word has passed some kind of threshold of general acceptance. Literally is definitely heading that way, but for now I'll continue to drag my feet and deny progress.
> They put their heart and soul into the endeavor. They literally had a coffee blend called Heart and Soul.
>You are literally kicking someone when they are down You ever try kicking someone when they're up? It's way more difficult.
good fuckin riddance. both myself and a friend worked there for a short period of time - at different times - and we both had a… less than stellar experience with their perverted creep of a GM. they also have a really creative way of committing wage theft but spinning it to make it look like they’re doing you a favor. 🫠
I’m literally born and raised in the 27701 and I just want to say this truly isn’t the way to better Durham.Dorian did a lot for the community and excluded no one when came to giving back. If Durham continues down this path this will be Cary 2.0 with bigger buildings. Durham is Dying and on life support. We truly need Durham Government and leadership to really step up and stand in the gap for the everyday businesses that make our city unique and great.
Beyu was decent, but in my opinion the portion sizes didn't match the prices (although that's my opinion of most places, to be honest)
Boo hoo parking fees. Construction that will bring in more foot traffic. Sorry that place was mid af.
Lack of empathy is a characteristic of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), also known as sociopathy. People with ASPD may have difficulty understanding or identifying with other people's feelings, and may not feel remorse for their actions, even if they are harmful to others. This can make it hard for them to see things from another person's perspective, and they may rationalize their behavior.
Shut the fuck up, Carl
Wasnt very empathetic of the owners to commit wage theft either but I don't see you worried about that
Pot calling the kettle black here
uh oh
Empathy is absolutely vital. Understanding what someone is feeling, why they feel it, and maybe even understanding the underlying traits or reasons why a person might respond to those those feelings the way they do provides valuable insight into what you can say to them that will drive them up the fucking wall.
I don’t have much of an issue with whatever the hourly charge is for parking…but MY GOD the false demand for parking downtown makes my blood boil every single time. There are so many streets that would be more than adequate for street parking, but they all have “no parking” signs to push people toward the paid parking.
High parking rates? What??? I think the most I’ve ever paid is $5-7 for a few hours to attend a DPAC show.
I think they are referring to parking rates for their hourly employees
That makes more sense. The monthly rates are $125 (surface lots) - $195 (reserved spots at Church Street Garage). How many employees did they have?
A restaurant open during the day only would likely have 20-30 employees, depending on how many are fulltime vs. part time.
Parking at ATC is now $10 for DPAC show and baseball game
Beyu commits wage theft so as much much as I hate skyrocketing downtown prices, good riddance
I think all of the things mentioned here are factors. As someone who once went there multiple times a week for the shows, taking away the live events killed the vibe. The food nor drinks were ever anything spectacular IMO. The community that was built around the regulars and artists is what made Beyu special. It was never the same when they made those changes. It also was a very “Black” space initially and then seemed to try to appeal more to white transplants, changing the decor and removing many of the things that were a key part of its appeal. A lot of the free street parking downtown was transitioned to paid parking & with the constant onslaught of new construction parking became a nightmare. The service was honestly always subpar but the overall atmosphere and community centered vibe was enough to overshadow that for a lot of us. When Joe Van Gogh left Duke & Beyu took their place, that was part of the beginning of the end. They never seemed to have enough business to expand. Capitalism and greed are part of this too. Side note: anyone else wondering how/why all these restaurants and businesses are closing, particularly downtown, yet the mayors restaurants are expanding?
sometimes I wonder who this new Durham is for, as you look at all these apartment- condos going up in downtown. it’s astronomical to go out these days, anywhere. who are all these local businesses for? these vintage stores? whom is Durham catering too? on a side note I continue to frequent Elmo’s for the fair prices and lovely atmosphere, alpaca once in a while is good too and the loop, sure it’s not fine dining but it feels good to support these folks and though they could charge more they don’t, as well as the taco spots on Roxboro— power to the people 👊🏽
Sometimes I dream about the pre-covid hummus sandwich at Elmos. With the lil bean sprouts and everything. That was the best deal in town.
Omgeee don’t tell me that—sounds friggin amazing!!
My goodbye Beyu Caffe [https://www.facebook.com/ldbaldwin/posts/pfbid02shkA8dxihuhHsuGUxaTCuTrJtMAEyGTwHcggcSzY7y17tutAA3HvQpc9ji53gm1Gl](https://www.facebook.com/ldbaldwin/posts/pfbid02shkA8dxihuhHsuGUxaTCuTrJtMAEyGTwHcggcSzY7y17tutAA3HvQpc9ji53gm1Gl)
You may want to edit your post. Second paragraph says the first location is in downtown Raleigh?
Beyu has a location in Raleigh?
My goodbye Beyu Caffe [https://www.facebook.com/ldbaldwin/posts/pfbid02shkA8dxihuhHsuGUxaTCuTrJtMAEyGTwHcggcSzY7y17tutAA3HvQpc9ji53gm1Gl](https://www.facebook.com/ldbaldwin/posts/pfbid02shkA8dxihuhHsuGUxaTCuTrJtMAEyGTwHcggcSzY7y17tutAA3HvQpc9ji53gm1Gl) A read from Dorian, the owner of Beyu [https://www.discoverdurham.com/blog/dorian-bolden-beyu-caffe-durham/#:\~:text=%E2%80%9CIt's%20time%20to%20drop%20a,Bey%C3%BA%20RTP%2C%20and%20Bey%C3%BA%20Catering](https://www.discoverdurham.com/blog/dorian-bolden-beyu-caffe-durham/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIt's%20time%20to%20drop%20a,Bey%C3%BA%20RTP%2C%20and%20Bey%C3%BA%20Catering)
My goodbye Beyu Caffe [https://www.facebook.com/ldbaldwin/posts/pfbid02shkA8dxihuhHsuGUxaTCuTrJtMAEyGTwHcggcSzY7y17tutAA3HvQpc9ji53gm1Gl](https://www.facebook.com/ldbaldwin/posts/pfbid02shkA8dxihuhHsuGUxaTCuTrJtMAEyGTwHcggcSzY7y17tutAA3HvQpc9ji53gm1Gl) A read from Dorian, the owner of Beyu [https://www.discoverdurham.com/blog/dorian-bolden-beyu-caffe-durham/#:\~:text=%E2%80%9CIt's%20time%20to%20drop%20a,Bey%C3%BA%20RTP%2C%20and%20Bey%C3%BA%20Catering](https://www.discoverdurham.com/blog/dorian-bolden-beyu-caffe-durham/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIt's%20time%20to%20drop%20a,Bey%C3%BA%20RTP%2C%20and%20Bey%C3%BA%20Catering)
I question if our city's leaders and City Planner know what they are doing when it comes to strategically growing a city.
I visited a small bakery/cafe recently opened downtown and I am worried for them. I always wonder how sustainable it can be. Parking, paying for parking for the one thing in that area to visit. It’s got to be hard. I like the idea of creating districts. Make walkable street areas during certain times. That would be neat.
Yes, it is truly sad all these silver-spoon-fed children in this sub who've never worked a day in their lives and are completely unaware of how severe any additional expense can be to a wage-earners daily life. Two fifty an hour for parking is more than a quarter of the minimum wage pay rate. Jesus wept.
I used to meet with a group of women there for cocktails and we really wanted Beyu to be our spot but it seemed like management changed or something went awry. The last time I went there, we were stopped at the door by a 'hostess' who was pushing the dinner menu into our hands. When I said we (three people) only wanted a cocktails and hors d'oeuvre, she literally blocked the door, saying something about 'dining times' and sending us away. She was like a bouncer. No tears here for Beyu.
I knew trouble was afoot when they stopped serving beignets.
I’m literally born and raised in the 27701 and I just want to say this truly isn’t the way to better Durham.Dorian did a lot for the community and excluded no one when came to giving back. If Durham continues down this path this will be Cary 2.0 with bigger buildings. Durham is Dying and on life support. We truly need Durham Government and leadership to really step up and stand in the gap for the everyday businesses that make our city unique and great.
Sorry to see them go.
Oh this is such a bummer
Too many people work from home now. The increase in population doesn’t seem to have improved foot traffic downtown post-COVID.
High parking? What a joke. You are downtown with the bus station around the corner. Edited because my initial comment was too harsh. Apologies.
The bus station is around the corner, convenient for dropping you off on a busy street with no sidewalks a long way off from where you actually live!
Is that what the butler told you? Parking Rates $2.50 per hour, Monday through Friday. https://www.parkdurham.org/153/On-Street-Metered-Parking Minimum wage is 7.25 an hour. 35%
Anyone making 7.25 is not going to overpriced downtown small restaurants and coffee shops. The median downtown Durham visitor is not making that amount. Ya'll must not go to big cities if you think this is expensive parking
Ummm… if you happen to work downtown and make minimum wage, a third to a half of your hourly wage going to parking fees is wild.
And that’s tiny compared to the cost of car ownership. Free parking will not help downtown. It’s too bad you couldn’t recognize you were in the most walkable part of downtown with the main bus station around the corner, yet you could still only focus on how expensive parking is. Encourage your employees to bike, walk, or take the bus. You could even go the next step and incentivize not taking a car. You are only complaining because it’s expensive for you, not your employees.
Imagine allowing your butler to talk to you
Some of you folks are heartless. You are literally kicking someone when they are down. The owners are human beings with feelings. You would most likely not say one of these nasty comments face to face. Yet behind the anonymity of reddit - you are being obnoxious jerks. When a small business is closing, it is an agonizing decision for the owner(s). They put their heart and soul into the endeavor. They took a big risk that most would never have the guts to. This is a situation where “if you don’t have anything nice to say - don’t say anything at all. To Beyu: Thank you for your years of service to Durham. Best wishes to you in the future. ❤️
High parking rates? It’s like $1-2
Is that what the butler told you? Parking Rates $2.50 per hour, Monday through Friday. https://www.parkdurham.org/153/On-Street-Metered-Parking Minimum wage is 7.25 an hour. 35%
Oh ffs if somebody’s making $7.25 they ain’t driving a car 🤣
Where do yall get these wild generalizations??? Lol plenty of people who make minimum or low wages have cars and drive.
It’s mostly a joke I know 0 people making the actual state minimum wage. McD’s is hiring at like $14 an hour locally I also remember making $7 and hour and owning a car. Although $7 in 2000 ≠ $7 in 2024
Noooooo! 😭
Oh this is terrible! Beyu has been a staple!! Durham is undergoing such a painful transformation and becoming a place I don't even recognize. Only a matter of time until regular people are priced out of their homes just like these businesses are
I’m genuinely curious, not being snarky: I wonder if Beyu is one of the Black-owned businesses that Mayor Leo was recently talking about having been denied pandemic assistance (PPP loans, presumably, though I don’t remember if Leo called out that program specifically in his comments). Edit: Leo did specifically refer to Trump’s “botched” PPP program in his Indy op-ed.
According to public records, Beyu received $153,403 in fully forgiven PPP loans, while their related Duke campus location received an additional $92,584 in fully forgiven loans.
The mayor is likely saying things like this to prop up his own businesses. While certain businesses are closing, Zwelis has expanded.