Why Xando closed
I talked to the CFO of Cosi late yesterday. It's the parent company of Xando, the coffee house and bar at 3003 N. Charles St. that closed abruptly last Sunday. He said the reason was...
...that the lease was up and they decided not to renew it because of what he called "a shift in demographics." When I asked him to be a little more specific, it turned out that the shift in demographics mostly meant that a Starbucks had moved in a couple of blocks over on St. Paul. So much for the theory that a Starbucks helps the other coffee houses in its immediate area.
I asked him if they were looking for another location in Baltimore, and he said yes, but that it would be a Cosi, not a Xando. This was the last Xando still left open in the chain. It was there nine years.
Comments
Put it in Federal Hill!! Besides Spoons, there is no good place to get coffee...
Posted by: wing | December 6, 2007 11:02 AM
I miss Xando already.
Posted by: Tennisgal1206 | December 6, 2007 12:05 PM
I remember when it first opened back in 1999. I was one of the first employees to work at the CV R&TT next door (which also recently closed) and my daily lunch routine would consist of a chicken mozz sandwich and mint arctic mocha from Xando.
I'm sad about it. I'll miss it.
Posted by: Lauren E. | December 6, 2007 2:46 PM
Wing,
There will be a new coffeehouse opening in the next six months on Light Street called The Fed.
Keep an eye out. It's a block south of Quizno's.
Posted by: Sam Sessa | December 6, 2007 4:02 PM
There are two other Cosis further down; one one S. Charles and one on Washington, I believe.
XandO was a cool enough spot, surely, but my bigger concern is the decision not to inform the community until less than a week prior to closing the venue. I started working at XandO in '00, and in September of that year, I helped start a poetry reading (www.slamicide.com) in the basement. We'd been there for over 7 years, and yet we were not provided any warning of our impending homelessness until the Monday before they closed.
Fortunately, one of the employees (who, herself, was not officially to be told until two days later) wanted to be sure we would have enough time to find a new venue to house us the following week.
I'll certainly miss the place, but the departure leaves a bitter flavour. No Cosi will receive any more of my money, that's for sure.
Posted by: granmadave | December 6, 2007 4:33 PM