Juan Valdez Cafe Renovation on 57th Street

September 28th, 2007 | Leave a Comment

The Juan Valdez Cafe on 140 East 57th street in Manhattan is undergoing a renovation. The neighborhood favorite is popular for it’s authentic Colombian Coffee as well as for it’s atmosphere.

Construction shot of the Fields Construction Crew in action - 9/28/07

I spoke with Metehan Akgdag, the Project Engineer for Fields Construction. He was kind enough to tell me a little bit about the project. For one, the project is fast tracked to be completed within a week and a half and is scheduled to re-open by October 3rd. That’s great news for the regular coffee aficionados.

The project is going well minus a few minor obstacles. For one, since the city is full of United Nation officials and heads of state, the traffic has been a nightmare for drivers. Lanes have been designated for police caravans thus reducing a lane of normal traffic. As a result, they weren’t permitted to have a dumpster in front of the store to remove the demolition debris. So they had to get creative by arranging for a late night trash pick up as well as an early morning drywall delivery. I guess that’s one way to remain on schedule.

I for one look forward to seeing the new and improved Juan Valdez Cafe. Hey, maybe they’ll even bring back the slide show projector and add some more outlets for us bloggers.