Coffee Shop Owners Avoid Mall Eviction

The plight of Joe and Nicki Ehret came to an unexpected and happy end Tuesday when the owners of Nicki’s Coffee Espressions were given a 10-year lease by managers of the Janss Marketplace.

The Ehrets, who opened their Thousand Oaks coffee shop three years ago, were notified earlier this month that they had 30 days to move out of the mall. Another coffee shop was moving in.

But after gathering more than 850 signatures from customers--and enlisting the help of Mayor Andy Fox and Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski--the Ehrets were allowed to remain by the mall’s managers, Westfield Corp. of Los Angeles.

“Our problem has been solved,” Joe Ehret told the City Council on Tuesday, an hour after he had received the news.

His announcement elicited a roar from the audience in the council chambers, many of whom were there to complain about the Ehrets’ situation.

“We all appreciate when we have some positive things we can do in the community,” Fox said.

The Ehrets sank their life savings into the shop at about the time the city’s oldest shopping center was beginning a major overhaul. They survived months of construction only to learn that the management wanted them out.