Highland Coffees received a lease extension and will not close on Christmas Eve as originally planned, owner Clarke Cadzow said Tuesday.
In late September, Cadzow announced that property owner Saurage Rotenberg Commercial Real Estate did not renew the coffee shop’s lease, but about a month ago Cadzow said he and property owners started working to extend the lease.
Realtors originally planned to lease the space to a sit-down restaurant, but now those plans are off, said partner and managing banker Hank Saurage IV.
“We’ve struck a deal to extend his lease and all other deals are off,” Saurage said. “I’m glad we were able to come to an agreement.”
Cadzow told customers and staff Tuesday evening that the iconic iron gates of Highland Coffees would remain open.
“It feels very good to have that hard work behind us,” Cadzow said.
Now, Cadzow and his staff can get back to serving the community as they have for 25 years and will continue to for years to come.
“I’m glad to get back to working to serving our customers,” Cadzow said. “I mean, you never know, but we expect to be there for a long time.”
University alumnus Demond Matsuo said he’s been a longtime customer of Highland Coffees, frequenting the coffee shop in its previous location on the corner of West Chimes Street.
Matsuo said for years, Highland Coffees has been more than a coffee shop — it’s been a place to meet friends and a cultural landmark to the Northgate neighborhood.
“It would have been a bad loss,” Matsuo said. “I’m glad everything worked out. People were freaking out about [the] closing.”
After Cadzow announced Highland Coffees’ closing, students, faculty and Baton Rouge residents rallied to keep it open. A petition to keep Highland Coffees open indefinitely received about 5,858 signatures.
Graduate student Peter Jenkins began the petition and organized students and community members to form the Save Highland Coffees Committee. Though the committee was not officially affiliated with the coffee shop, Jenkins said he thinks his petition had some effect on the lease’s extension.
“In the end, all the details of why this lease came into fruition is all onto Hank Sau.rage,” Jenkins said.
The day after Highland Coffees’ announced its closing, the petition already had gained significant traction, and Jenkins said within five to six hours, Saurage said he never wanted the coffee shop to leave.
“Maybe having 5,000 people — even if its just an online petition ­— I’d like to think that helped,” Jenkins said.
For music doctoral candidate Hannah Urdea, who drinks her morning tea from the coffee shop, the lease extension is also a relief.
An international student from Romania, Urdea said Highland Coffees is an integral part of the University. She said she walks over from the School of Music to take a break or grab something quick a few times a day.
“I feel like it’s part of the culture,” Urdea said. “I don’t think there’s any LSU music student who doesn’t go there.”
Urdea said she was excited to break the news to classmates and friends during a rehearsal Tuesday evening.
“It’s not just about the product or whatever,” Urdea said. “It just seems like they actually care.”