No One Shows up for Coffee with Cafe Stella Owner (Video)

The furor around the concrete wall that appeared at the corner of Sanborn Avenue and Sunset Boulevard last week has set the Internet on fire.

You've probably seen coverage in the Eastsider LA, Curbed LA and the LAist, as well as the many comments.

Gareth Kantner, the owner of Cafe Stella and the rest of the complex under the Sunset Junction sign, has taken a lot of heat--both for the new wall and recent repairs to the fabled sign.

He's also already had a visit from the city's Department of Building and Safety, perhaps prompted by the Council District 13 office.

But he maintains that the wall and rest of his project to bring a full bar and outdoor seating area to the existing space has all been done legally, with the appropriate approvals.

Coffee Anyone?

Tuesday night, at 6:43 p.m. Kantner extended the following invitation to local residents, as a comment on the Eastsider LA site:

Good evening all of you!!!
I invite all to come and join me for a cup of coffee tomorrow … At cafe stella
To image [sic] in a open dicussion
I would love to talk and listen to ideas and concerns
Let me know?

As he noted Wednesday morning at 10:19 a.m. in the same comment stream:

Nobody for coffee at stella
That’s what I thought!!!

Which isn't exactly true, since Echo Park Patch showed up just about then.

Kantner offered us a cafe au lait from nearby Intelligentsia, and told us he'd consider inserting Moroccan-style window cutouts--or some other light-bringing device--into the wall.

We shot the accompanying video of Kantner walking us through his final plans for the expanded bar and seating area.

It's worth a look.

Kantner also said he's getting ready to put his best foot forward Thursday at the community meeting scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Russian Church at 650 Micheltorena St. 

He'll have an artist's rendering of how things will look when the wall's painted, decorated and covered by plants.

He can't wait.

Meantime, Kantner says anyone who wants to come down and discuss--and presumably enjoy a coffee-- is welcome.

"My office is at the top of the stairs," he said.