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The owner of Pan Latin Café hopes a community focus will help save her business
On a recent Thursday afternoon near the peak of lunch hour, Elizabeth Fernandez of the Battery Park City Ballet School Day Camp and her troupe of seven and eight year-olds walked into Pan Latin Café.
While many restaurateurs would have groaned at the thought of serving a pack of rambunctious children, within a few minutes, Pan Latin owner and chef Sandy Kraehling seated the group, baked some Latin American cookies, pulled some ‘dulce de leche’ ice cream from the freezer and began to teach the children how to make ice-cream sandwiches with a Pan Latin twist. “It requires time, energy, and materials, but this is how we give back to the community,” Kraehling said. “It’s not in our best financial interest, but we do it.”
Pan Latin Café has been a fixture in the Battery Park City community since 2004. Located at the corner of Chambers Street and River Terrace, the café, which offers an assortment of sweet and savory breads and traditional Latin American food, has a cozy feel. An ambience of warm oranges, reds, and yellows color the backdrop as soft rock and the sounds of many conversations set a relaxing mood. But now, in the wake of the recession, the neighborhood oasis is struggling to keep its doors open.
Last year, Pan Latin Café, located close to the financial district in downtown Manhattan, lost many of its loyal financial industry customers, who were no longer able to afford rent in the area and moved out. This summer, unseasonably cool weather, coupled with competition from a nearby Whole Foods, has caused sales at Pan Latin to fall about 35 percent compared to the same period last year, Kraehling said.
To make matters worse, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance came knocking in July, demanding payment of back taxes. On July 2, the department padlocked the café. “We’re taking from Peter and paying Paul,” Kraehling said, citing mounting bills related to payroll, maintenance, rent and inventory. “New York State didn’t want to hear about that, so they came here and locked us up.”
The closure was especially devastating for Pan Latin since the July 4 weekend is traditionally a very profitable one. This year, the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks display was moved to the Hudson River, promising to attract even more customers.
After spending two days working with her husband on the Pan Latin budget and having extensive conversations with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Kraehling put together enough money to gain a temporary reprieve just in time for the Fourth of July. “We had a good weekend. We put our American flags up,” she said. “But it’s only temporary. Pretty much what we’ve got right now is a very small Band-aid on a very big wound.”
Matteo Battistini, a junior at nearby Stuyvesant High School, is a regular at the café. “I can’t believe that the store might close,” he said. “It’s such a big part of the community. I can’t even imagine what it would be like without Pan Latin on the corner.”
Indeed, the café is actively involved in the Stuyvesant community, and has donated platters of food for various school events. Pan Latin also holds bread-making classes for first grade students of neighboring P.S. 89 and sponsors events such as Run for Knowledge and the Silent Auction Raffle.
“The café is really involved with the children’s education,” said Erica Barish, a resident of Battery Park City who has an infant daughter. “That’s one of the reasons why I come here.”
To build loyalty and encourage repeat business, the café allows customers to pay for meals the next day when they are running low on cash. “If people come here, give foot traffic, and support this, we can stay open,” Kraehling said. “But if our community, or part of it, is not coming in, we have less chance of surviving.”
Pan Latin’s personal touch appeals to Battery Park City resident Gina Ma. “I love that it’s independently owned,” she said. “It would be a shame if this place became another Chipotle.”
Building relationships with customers like Ma is the key to Pan Latin’s survival, Kraehling said. “When you run a business without many layers and it’s just you in front of your customers, people take that to heart and you become a fixture,” she said. “I don’t believe that this is the end of the road for Pan Latin.”
