Sept. 20, 2016 By Christian Murray
Communitea, a café that has been part of the fabric of Hunters Point for the past 11 years, was finally approved for a wine, beer and cider license by a Community Board 2 subcommittee last week.
The café, which relocated to 11-18 46th Road after being on Vernon Boulevard for a decade, had sought the wine and beer license many months ago but ran into a roadblock after it was found to not have a certificate of occupancy or its equivalent for a food and restaurant establishment.
The café’s 46th Road location was a former carpenter’s shop.
The matter has been rectified and its owners Kafia Saxe and Lloyd Canning, a husband and wife duo, are now plan on extending their hours and offering a dinner menu. The venue, which is currently open only until 7 pm, is best known for its selection of tea as well as its salads, wraps, burgers, paninis, croissants and scones.
The community board committee approved the license and Communitea now plans to extend its hours until midnight on Friday and Saturday, as well as 10 pm on other nights.
The owners did not request permission to serve alcohol in the rear yard patio space, which they had sought last year. The owners require a certificate of occupancy as a food and restaurant establishment for the rear yard, which can be an expensive and time-consuming process.
Communitea had operated at 47-02 Vernon Blvd location for a decade before being unable to renew its lease.
In other news, Beans, Grapes & Leaves, a cafe located at 2-10 50th Avenue, has closed after being in operation almost two years. The cafe reportedly cleared out of the premises last month, according to workers at the Gantry Park Landing complex.
Beans, Grapes and Leaves
