Local News in Brief : Onyx Cafe Will Close

A popular artists’ meeting spot in Silver Lake will close next month, to be replaced by a theater ticket booth.

After pushing its eviction case to a jury trial, the Onyx Cafe, a quirky, Bohemian-style coffeehouse that caters to an avant-garde clientele of artists and writers, has been ordered to vacate in 60 days. Landlord Fred Hicks, who also holds the master lease on the Vista Theatre next door, said he needed the tiny storefront for the space to build a three-screen complex.

A jury in Los Angeles Municipal Court last week ruled against co-owners John Leech and Fumiko Robinson. An attorney for the two had argued that the eviction was in retaliation for past complaints about the condition of two apartments they rent upstairs. Judge Melvin Recana ordered the two to pay Hicks’ court costs and attorney fees, estimated at $20,000.

Leech said that he and Robinson have been looking for a new spot in the area for the cafe since Hicks first made moves to evict them last October but have not found anything yet.