With the owner eyeing “semi-retirement” life and new adventures, a longtime, downtown-area restaurant may be about to change hands.
Einstein’s Cafe, which has been operating since 1989 (mostly on Grant Street), is up for sale.
“I think it's time. I'm losing the edge,” Rocky Mugford said of what prompted him to put the restaurant on the market. “Family time is needed and it's a lot of (work) hours … my body's getting tired of it.
“And, yeah, try some new avenues in the world,” he added. “I know it sounds weird, but I'm still, I think, I'm pretty young still. I'm only 48.”
Einstein’s is a licenced restaurant located in an 1,800-sq. ft. converted century home, with two patios and a full commercial kitchen. There’s five years remaining on the lease, which includes $4,500 monthly rent.
The asking price is $325,000.
“There's a lot of loyal customers over the years. It’s a great location,” said Mugford. “It’s Einstein's. It's just, it has its own flow.”
Mugford, who bought into the restaurant in 2003 and is now the full owner, hopes whoever takes it over will “keep the Einstein's flair going.”
“It's been there a long time and a lot of people have been coming there since I've started.
We'll see what happens from here,” he said.
Acknowledging “time’s ticking fast,” Mugford looks forward to being at home with his five-year-old son and doing more family activities.
“I'm going to take some time and just maybe do a little, you know, travelling around,” he added. “My oldest son (who is 21) is going to be going down to college in Texas for a bit, so I might go down there and check it out with him.”
