LEBANON, Tenn. (WKRN) —After 27 years in business, a beloved cafe in Lebanon said they were forced out of their location.
With high rent prices and costly renovations, the owner of Cedar Street Eats, formerly known as Frankie’s Cafe, is afraid she’ll lose her livelihood.
Christy’s mother, Frankie, has owned the cafe in Lebanon for nearly three decades.
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“A very long time, it’s been our rock,” Christy Mofield said.
But after 27 years, she said her landlord gave them six months to leave the location. “[ They said ] their insurance went up so much that they needed us to get out and that the place wasn’t meant to be a restaurant and after all of these years they didn’t think we needed to stay.”
Mofield had no choice but to pack up everything and have a final meal with their customers at Frankie’s Cafe. “That was our life, we were going to lose everything, everybody…it was just real heartbreaking.”
Promising to reopen, Mofield said finding affordable rent was challenging. She said rent anywhere else was six times the amount she paid. “A small little mom-and-pop place, it’s hard to make rent like that and stay open and make a profit…it’s just like living in Nashville now.”