Here's Casbah Cafe's Scorching Statement About Why They Had to Close So Suddenly

The sudden loss of Silver Lake legend Casbah Cafe has locals in the neighborhood reeling. The two decade old casual eatery literally disappeared overnight, leaving just about everyone to wonder what the heck happened. Higher rents? A changing clientele? A lack of media coverage? Turns out, it was all that and more, and the Casbah team isn’t happy about it.

Here’s the full statement from ownership, which is about as charged up as any restaurant obituary you’ll read, with lots of references to Corporate America, being 'forced out', and the rise of celebrity culture:

Casbah Statement

Do you agree? Silver Lake has certainly changed in the 20 years since Casbah came on the scene, but — landlord disputes notwithstanding — has it really become unworkable to run a small business on Sunset Boulevard? Or, as sad as it is to see a local legend move on, is that just the way it goes sometimes?