Passero’s coffee stand, a fixture at Suburban Station for three decades, will close Thursday
Owner Jeff Lincoln said the pandemic, which slowed commuter traffic to a trickle, had made the business unsustainable, even as nearby offices have been directing employees back to work in-person.
The Passero’s Coffee Roasters stand at SEPTA’s Suburban Station, whose espresso machine was somewhat of a novelty in Philadelphia at its opening in January 1991, will close after business Thursday.
Owner Jeff Lincoln said the pandemic, which slowed commuter traffic to a trickle, had made the business unsustainable, even as nearby offices have been directing employees back to in-person work. His other Passero’s locations — at 834 Chestnut St. at the Franklin Residences and 100 E. Penn Square in the Wanamaker Building — remain. Business there has bounced back, he said.
Suburban Station, adjacent to Comcast headquarters, was the busiest Passero’s before March 2020. It reopened a year and a half ago, and “we’ve been waiting month to month, going, ‘Well, they’ll be coming back.’ And even when Comcast came back [three days a week], we’re probably a third, at most, of where we used to be. That’s unsustainable, and that’s still an improvement over the summer.”
Lincoln said the stand was on a month-to-month lease.
A SEPTA spokesperson said the agency was sad to see Passero’s go. “SEPTA is working hard to rebuild ridership, but we know it is a very challenging time for business owners who rely on foot traffic through Suburban Station,” the spokesperson said, noting “encouraging signs” of rebuilding traffic. Regional Rail ridership is still less than half of pre-pandemic levels, SEPTA said.
The spokesperson said the agency would advertise the location as a prospective coffee shop or convenience store.
“We always did really well with the Comcast people, even though they had plenty of options,” Lincoln said. “Fewer people are coming through the station. Not only are people not working five days a week, but I think the people who are coming in two days a week or even three days a week are deciding to drive.”
The station has a Dunkin’ Donuts, there is a Starbucks next door at the Comcast Center, and there are coffee options in Comcast’s underground shops and in the Comcast Technology Center across 18th Street.
Meanwhile, the Wawa location on Arch Street across from the Comcast Center is closed till February for renovations, and the Corner Bakery at 17th Street and JFK Boulevard recently closed permanently. Classic Cake’s retail shop and cafe, on Suburban Station’s street level on JFK Boulevard, has been closed for two years.
The Passero’s closing will idle longtime workers P.J. Brown, a 10-year Passero’s employee, and Albie Agar, on the job for seven years.
“I’m empty, disappointed, sad, a little angry, and tired,” Brown said. “It’s been a hard year and a half. We worked very hard to stay open and this is how it ends.”