It’s the last full week of the decade and I’m reflecting on how many places I loved in Los Angeles have closed, victims of rising rents and greedy developers. One of the saddest is the loss of Casbah Cafe in Silver Lake. Moroccan decor crossed with that special brand of Angeleno bohemian chic... I loved going there. It was the true epicenter of Silver Lake creativity. Folks of all backgrounds sipping tea or coffee and eating pastries or salad and quiche or a boiled egg and orange. Strangers talking to each other... the eavesdropping was so good there! It was a second home for me. Sometimes I’d merely pop in to take in the atmosphere, which is how I came to take this photo on this day in 2015. Nearly closing time, if I remember correctly. In 2015, Casbah’s rent was raised from $5,000 to something insane like $12,000 a month. It shuttered overnight. Then in 2017 a La Colombe coffee opened, complete with unimaginative chain restaurant-style white and gray decor. I’ve gone in to see what it’s like and La Colombe feels like it’s where you go if you want your creative dreams to die. The neighborhood hasn’t been the same since the demise of Casbah. #losangeles #silverlake #bohemian #hipstervania #casbahcafe #gentrification (at Silver Lake, Los Angeles) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6Z96LtFTU3/?igshid=12pxxr7ig6bc1
