Touring Downtown WIFI: Cafe Bermuda*

By Ed Fuentes
Published: Wednesday, June 17, 2009, at 08:36AM

5th and Main Ed Fuentes [Flickr]

5th and Main on June 16, 2009.

5th & Main, 1973 Courtesy of LAPL

The northeast corner of Main and 5th Streets June 7, 1973. Photograph by Victor Plukas.


The ever changing northeast corner of 5th and Main has had quite the evolution. It held a chicken joint selling legs and thighs with a side of nefarious inventory, then it "upgraded" to Main Street Cafe . . . briefly. Now the business has been purchased, the interior redesigned and opened as Café Bermuda.

The current soft-opening began last Thursday, just in time for Art Walk. It came down to the wire -- the last of the permits were issued the day before.

First, Café Bermuda is an odd name that says nothing about Downtown. The first thing that struck me was how this corner can easily be a Bermuda Triangle for cafes.

Ah, but their are signs for future success. Why? Coffee is good, they have a salad bar where you can mix and match ingredients and they serve pizzas and wraps; just right for a quick bite. For local residents, its handy.

Best of all, they have WIFI.

PROS: The clean, bright open space has the most comfortable seating in the WIFI tour thus far, and two outlets are located on the north facing wall. The music was soothing the day I was there, and the staff is happy to fill your coffee cup.

The street theater that is 5th and Main is fun at this angle.

CONS: An outlet in the outdoor patio would be an added plus. Then again, you would be sitting next to a busy intersection. Still, a window blocks off some sound from 5th street. Also, and it may be a sign of the times; while they have WIFI, no website is up.

LOGGING IN: After one simple password, the connection is stable and robust.

PRICE POINTS: Affordable basic menu makes for non-fussy choices. Coffee was priced high, but plans are to reduce to to match to compete with neighborhood prices.

OVERALL: It's so handy to have it here.

WILD CARD: 5th and Main, of course.

Café Bermuda / 464 S Main St, Los Angeles, CA / 213-622-6644 / Everyday (for now): 10am to 10pm

  • Café Bermuda reported as closed with no plans to reopen.

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Touring Downtown WIFI

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Comments

1
Jim Winstead writes:

we had dinner at cafe bermuda last night. the bus noise is pretty loud on the patio, but it was a great evening to be eating out there. the food was good, the service was friendly, and we'll definitely be back.

# on Jun.17.2009 AT 02:13 PM
2
Improvement writes:

Hopefully they can do well enough to keep the exterior clean enough to eat near. I catch a bus at that stop every morning and still see remnants of those who sleep around the store's facade. This has been a daily occurrence as long as I've lived here.

# on Jun.18.2009 AT 04:31 AM
3
D'Silkie Harris writes:

Dear Owners: I had people coming to your restaurant this Sunday. Sad to say it was closed; the phone number I have is disconnected. I have overheard rumors that it is closed. How unfortunate. I had mad my own flyers to uplift your customer count. My monitor is still in there (by the new trees). Please contact me at 323 778-5181 (leave a message with Mr. Neal) ASAP. I will miss you all and I wish you had a little more patience. I need biz takes a while to jump.

Sincerely,

Denise "D'Sikie" Harris

# on Oct.19.2009 AT 01:49 PM

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