Sunday was the last day in business for the Riverside Cafe at 739 W 13th St., and soon, the contents of the building will be auctioned off.
Melissa Vasquez, who bought the business from longtime owner Paul Cohlmia a little more than two years ago, said that the Riverside location just never recovered from an 18-month shutdown that followed a July 2021 fire. The early-morning fire damaged the back of the restaurant building, and after a long struggle to get contractors and then to find employees, Cohlmia reopened it in January 2023.
But the customers never really came back, said Vasquez, who also owns the Riverside Cafe at 9125 W. Central…