Seal Beach’s Cafe Lafayette restaurant has closed its doors. See this week’s Sun for details. Please leave your comments for possible use in the print edition on this page.
Local Cafe closes
Cafe Lafayette served its regulars a last dinner on Sunday
By Charles M. Kelly
The regular customers gathered at Main Street’s Cafe Lafayette for dinner last Sunday at the request of owner Tim Liggett. They didn’t know why Liggett had asked them to come to the restaurant.
“He went around table to table and told us all the news,” said Bruce Boehm, Old Town resident and Cafe Lafayette regular for 28 years.
Liggett’s news: the cafe was closing its doors. The restaurant closed the next day, on Memorial Day.
“It’s going to be really missed,” Boehm said.
Liggett said he thought business would be slow that day and it was near the end of the month, so it made sense to him to close the business on that day.
“To be honest with you, the restaurant should have closed before I purchased it,” Liggett said.
He bought Cafe Lafayette about a year and a half ago. “Financially, economically, I couldn’t make it work,” Liggett said.
He described the restaurant’s debt as overwhelming. “It’s quite unfortunate, to be honest with you,” he said.
“I’m really working hard to get my staff employed,” Liggett said.
According to Boehm, Liggett has been going up and down Main Street, talking to other restaurant owners about hiring Cafe Lafayette staff.
On Tuesday, Liggett said he had meetings with two local restaurant owners that day about hiring his people.
Liggett’s concern for his sfaff didn’t surprise Boehm.
“Tim is such a great guy,” Boehm said. “He took a personal interest in everybody who walked in the door.”
Boehm said that Liggett treated regular Cafe Lafayette customers like royalty.
He said that while other restaurants offered specialized food, Cafe Lafayttee offered a wide variety.
In 2015, the Sun reported that the restaurant’s menu had more than 50 items to choose from.
“It’s just a shame that the people in town didn’t support it,” Boehm said.
Boehm wasn’t the only customer saddened by the news about Cafe Lafaytte. Several community members expressed their dismay online.
“I enjoyed the food very much, just felt it could have benefited by being a larger restaurant,” according to Douglas Poff.
“I just heard they closed yesterday and I’m shocked! I will miss the Waldorf Chicken Salad and my favorite Lemon Chicken Soup,” according to Shelly Bolander.
“When are they closing?? And why? That’s awful, my family and I love that place,” according to Mindy Lacey.
“I think that is very sad. A lot of people liked that place and it was different,” according to Ericka Heaney.
