Mayan Buzz Cafe in Grand Rapids is closing for Good Friday – TheHitc

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) – The owner of a coffee shop in Grand Rapids, who is accused of not paying rent in more than 20 months, is closing his business on the West Side.

Marco Bulnes announced this on his Facebook page on Wednesday Maya Buzz Cafe at 208 Cesar E. Chavez Ave. south of Cherry Street SW will be closed starting Friday.

“I mean, it’s been about eight years in downtown Grand Rapids with the Mayan Buzz Café. Unfortunately, it has become too expensive for us to be there while new life is being created… and the changes that are happening in our lives and our surroundings and everything else,” Bulnes said in the Facebook live video he made while walking on a Grand Rapids trail.

Bulnes said the rent is higher and the building has a new owner and landlord. City property records confirm that Raider Development LLC sold the Mayan Buzz Café lot to City View Flats LLC on May 23 for $3 million. But the president of BBG Corporation, which owns City View Flats, says Mayan Buzz’s rental rate has remained the same for the past two years and bills have remained unpaid.

“During the three months that I’ve owned the building, Marco hasn’t paid any rent — just as he has for the previous 18 or so months with the previous owner,” Brian Gardner, president of BBG Corporation, told News 8 in an email Thursday .

Gardner said he met with Bulnes in early June about his arrears on rent and told Bulnes he needed to keep up with his payments or he would have to move out of the building. Gardner said Bulnes gave him a check for June rent, but that check bounced. Gardner said Bulnes has since refused to meet with him to discuss the situation.

“This isn’t the story of rising rents, tough economic times, etc.,” Gardner explained in the email, adding that Bulnes was able to contain his spending by working in his own business rather than relying solely on employees left to run the business.

In addition to increasing spending, Bulnes blamed the pandemic-driven changes in the industry and called on the government how it allocated funds for the Paycheck Protection Program.

“I will tell you as a business owner that lately post COVID it has been almost impossible, impossible to be open at the same times that you were open before. It was impossible to have the staff you need to keep moving forward. It’s been so difficult all this time, just making it, making it just about. And sometimes we don’t, and that’s okay,” Bulnes said in the Facebook post.

“This isn’t the case of the ‘hardworking little guy’ who suffers in downtime,” Gardner denied. “If that were the case, instead of ducking for the past month and trying to evoke misplaced public sympathy, Marco would have reached out to me to try and clear something up. “Industrious” is clearly not correct. In addition, he would definitely have made sure that he paid his employees, who are much more ‘little ones’ than he is.”

News 8 has tried to reach Bulnes at his coffee shop in Grand Rapids but has yet to receive a response.

In the Facebook Live post, Bulnes said an employee had complained on social media about not being paid. Bulnes claimed the clerk was fairly new to the business and was missing a week from his paycheck, but said: “It’s been taken care of. The ability to know what happened is there and the fact is we have a plan in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Bulnes also said staff at the Mayan Buzz Café, which is closing, “can work in the other stores with no problem.”

Mayan Buzz previously had another location at 507 Bridge St. NW, then owned by Walt Gutowski Jr.

Gutowski says “there were a lot of problems” with the company, which operated there for two to three years before closing about 18 months ago.

“It was difficult, but really nice people,” Gutowski said.

“We went through many, many difficulties. We’ve been through so many difficulties…on the journey for Mayan Buzz for so long,” Bulnes said in the Facebook Live video.

“Mistakes will happen because you cannot control everything that is in front of you. The difference is if you take care of them one by one, one by one, you can eventually clean it all up,” he said.

Bulnes co-owned the Mayan Buzz Café with Mary Rose when they opened another café in Bridge Street Market in Grand Rapids in 2018. Owners split in 2019 and Rose kept the market café, renaming it Tillie Ruth’s Coffee & Tea. Tillie Ruth is finished Closing on 04/30 and now Ferris Coffee & Nut operates the Market Cafe.

News 8 attempted to contact the owners of the three other Mayan Buzz Café locations but had received no response by close of business Thursday.

Bulnes said his other Mayan Buzz locations will remain open and he will “adjust stores to accommodate the necessary changes.” He also commented on his Facebook Live post, explaining that Mayan Buzz was “adapting to the new wave” of smaller cafes with a drive-thru. Bulnes said he will wait before returning to Grand Rapids but plans to go to Holland, Muskegon and other areas.

“Being a small business owner isn’t easy, it’s not easy. But if you love what you do, if you are passionate about your employees and passionate, if you have a goal related to wheat that you will do, then it becomes a situation where it is almost addictive to keep going and to keep going no matter what. Believe me, I’ve been told many times to stop. That’s not going to happen anytime soon,” Bulnes said on Facebook.