I heard one of the more disheartening pandemic landlord stories recently from Meg Ray of MIETTE, who relayed why they had to move Miette from their Jack London Square location. When all their locations were closed during the pandemic and they couldn’t pay their rent, Miette negotiated a rent reduction with their JLS landlord, CIM Group. Their space could then potentially be taken over by another tenant, a risk they had to take. But it didn’t happen, and Miette reopened and they were able to pay their rent again. But the renegotiation actually triggered a change in their lease terms, and it ends up CIM could relist their space in perpetuity, something Miette didn’t realize. Sure enough, CIM found a new tenant who could pay more rent (Timeless Coffee), and instead of moving this new tenant into one of the empty spaces at JLS, they in essence evicted Miette from their bakery space they have been in since 2009. CIM even tried to sell Miette’s space with their equipment (but Miette didn’t let that happen)! And they only had 60 days to vacate. A wonderful way to treat one of your starting tenants.
But, now the sweet news: Miette ended up finding a location in Montclair Village, the former Batch Bakery. They were barely able to fit their bakery equipment in, but they worked it out, and they now have a retail storefront up and running, offering cakes, cookies, candies, macarons, holiday treats, and a special selection of after-school treats, too. Sourdough bread is coming soon! (Their Hayes Valley, Ferry Building Marketplace, and Marin County Mart locations are all open.) Hours are Mon-Sat 9am-6pm and Sun 11am-4pm. 2220 Mountain Blvd., Montclair.
The new Miette in Montclair Village. Photo via Miette.
