ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Six years after opening the Community Café, Mandy Keyes is being forced to close shop and hand over the keys.
Earlier this week, Keyes received a notice stating that she must vacate the premises by Nov. 30.
She says RMD Associates, which owns the commercial space, did not give her a reason why she needs to move out of the Central Avenue location.
Keyes said she immediately called the landlord, but her calls went unanswered.
She reached out to the landlord’s attorney, Jason Ellison, to ask if this was an honest mistake.
“He said this is for real, and they want us to leave,” said Keyes.
Keyes is now working with her lawyers in hopes that she can get an extension. She says it’s going to be difficult to find a new place on such short notice.
“We can’t do permitting over Thanksgiving, even if we found a place tomorrow," she explained. "And I don’t know what my employees are going to do. They obviously can’t just not work while they’re waiting for the place to get built back up somewhere else.”
Community Café is one of several businesses on the Central Avenue strip in the Grand Central District that provides a safe space for the LGBTQ community.
“Everything that we are is about connecting people and building community and having a safe space where people can come and be themselves. That’s always been a very important part of our business,” Keyes said.
After receiving the notice to leave the property, Keyes shared the news on social media.
"We’ve had an enormous response. It’s very heartwarming to see the community be so supportive," she said.
Keyes said everyone is trying to do their part to help.
“They are reaching out to realtors and people that they know and thinking of spaces that might work," she explained.
Even though Central Avenue is a prime location, Keyes said she doesn’t have to be on the strip.
“We have spent six years building up this community. They’ll find us where ever we go," she said.
Ideally, Keyes said she would like her new spot to have parking. “Space is more important than the location at this point.”
10News reached out to the attorney for the landlord. We will update this story if we hear back.
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