by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The owners of 200cc scooter shop are back on Hendricks Avenue and this time they’ll be pouring more coffee into an already hyper retail market.
Owner and general manager Melissa Moldovan used to peddle vintage Vespa scooters out of the 4,000-square-foot space across from La Napolera in San Marco. But the market for the classic scooters, which was once on cruise control, is running out of gas.
Moldovan thought a coffee shop would take better advantage of her location in the middle of one of San Marco’s fastest-developing retail corridors so she overhauled her shop, took on a partner and changed the interior from scooter showroom to cafe.
The changeover required Moldovan to shut down for three months. The new look’s wide-open interior creates a laid-back atmosphere.
• The cafe tables surround a counter top with an old soda shop feel.
• The retro menu signs remind customers of the shop’s heritage.
• Cups come in sizes that translate to scooter engine sizes: a small is a 50cc, a medium dark roast is a 150 cc, and the large dark roast and the cafe take the name of the largest engine size — the 200cc.
The signs aren’t the cafe’s only connection to its old business: Moldovan still sells parts for the classic scooters. She thinks it gives her a unique niche in the area’s crowded coffee shop market. Customers can get coffee and a donut anywhere, she reasons, but 200cc is the only place to pick up a cappuccino and a carburetor.
Anything that helps 200cc stand out will be a help as Hendricks Avenue is quickly becoming San Marco’s caffeine corridor. From San Jose to downtown, commuters pass the Gate station, Starbucks, the new Uncommon Grounds, Panera Bread and now 200cc before they hit the Main Street Bridge. And property owners in the area say they expect a new coffee shop to open within several months in the vicinity of the Hendricks and LaSalle Street intersection.
But Moldovan thinks there will be plenty of customers to go around. She’s rented her space for two years and, during that time, she’s watched from her storefront window as the streets and sidewalks have grown more crowded.
Once the City finishes a $7 million road improvement project, she expects that trend to continue. She plans to take advantage of the wider sidewalks left behind by construction to offer outdoor seating and said the improvements should create a friendlier neighborhood for walkers.
“That’s the idea — to create an area where people want to walk,” said Moldovan. “I think it’s going to be a hit.”
She said the area’s comparatively cheap rents should continue to attract retail investment along Hendricks.
Commercial rent around her store, she says, runs about $1 per square foot. That’s a third less than the cheapest rents she found a half mile south in San Marco Square when she was shopping for a space two years ago. Other property owners along Hendricks agreed that Hendricks offers about a 33 percent discount north of Landon Ave.
“If you’re an entrepreneur starting up a business, it’s really expensive to rent in the Square,” said Moldovan. “It’s a good place for the established businesses; you need some money to last around there.”
Moldovan hopes to last on Hendricks by staying open late, catering to the after-the-bars crowd. 200cc also offers a self-service fill up station that lets morning commuters pour and pay for their own coffee without waiting in the counter line.
In addition to iced and hot coffees, the store offers daily bakery selections and soda waters.