SP Downtown Subs Owner Calling it Quits After 6 Years

The following article appeared in the March 16 edition of The Daily Breeze.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

SP Downtown Subs owner calling it quits after 6 years
By Donna Littlejohn Staff Writer
Article Launched: 03/15/2008 11:06:43 PM PDT

Mike Caccavalla, owner of Downtown Subs and More, says he's closing the San Pedro shop after this weekend. He said he and his wife, Sylvia, will focus on their other downtown business, Boca Activewear.

Downtown Subs and More, a popular home-grown sandwich shop in San Pedro, will close after this weekend, owner Mike Caccavalla said.

Caccavalla opened the shop at 362 W. Sixth St. on Feb. 2, 2002. Besides providing a quick lunch stop for shoppers and workers on the run, the restaurant has carved a niche for itself by catering many local events, from Shakespeare by the Sea performances to fundraisers for the International Bird Rescue Research Center. Other clients have included UCLA and the Port of Los Angeles.

An undisclosed buyer is negotiating to open a sit-down restaurant in the downtown space, Caccavalla said.

While citing personal reasons - he said he could count the number of vacation days he's taken on one hand in the six years since the shop opened - Caccavalla said finances also played a role.
"We all know it's going to take another six years to get downtown going," he said. "It's on the right track, but I don't have another six years to devote to this."

The business is holding its own, though, he said.

"It's easier to get rid of a restaurant when it's doing good than when it's doing bad," he said.
Andrew Silber, owner of the Whale and Ale Pub in downtown, said he's sorry to see the shop close.

"It's part of the fabric of downtown, but hopefully someone else will do a similar job," Silber said.
Warren Gunter owns the property.

"We're not leaving with our tail between our legs," Caccavalla said. "It's been a fun ride."

Caccavalla said he and his wife, Sylvia, will focus all their energies on the family's other downtown San Pedro business, Boca Activewear at 360 W. Sixth St. That business was started 12 years ago.

"The idea we had when we opened (Downtown Subs and More) was to have excellent food at a reasonable price," he said. "We did exactly what we said we wanted to do."

Several small shops have opened in downtown San Pedro over the past year, with owners counting on the new lofts and other developments and improvements to bring the area up.

The slow pace of downtown revitalization is making it harder on small-business owners, Silber said.

"If revitalization were moving quickly and efficiently, most of these businesses would be thriving and not looking for a buyer," he said. "It all plays a role."

Caccavalla, who serves on two downtown advisory panels and was an honorary mayor candidate in San Pedro in 2005, believes the area has a bright future. That revitalization is taking longer than anticipated is not a surprise, he said.

"From what I understand, except for tearing down Beacon Street, everything here has taken forever," he said. "It took them 35 years to get a building between Sixth and Seventh on Centre Street.

"Overall, downtown is coming up, it looks nicer than it used to look."
donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com
________________________________________________________

Mike is a great San Pedran! He is that even though he was born and raised on the incorrect side of the country where the ocean comes to shore from the wrong direction.

Well it's not his fault where he was born so we really shouldn't hold it against him.

Mike, his wife, and their daughter are absolutely wonderful people.

Mr. C. is one of the most giving individuals I know. He is one of the folks in my "Be More Like John Olguin" posts on my Ponte Vista blog.

Sure I will miss my roast beef sandwiches at Downtown Subs and More, but I will sure be happier greeting Mike when he looks like he hasn't slept any nights during June and July.

Mike is what is best about OUR community. But we all know and highly appreciate that he is not alone in his giving to OUR community.

Mike's dad Joe, was the co-ordinator for the first Tri-Arts Festival in downtown San Pedro. I hope that continues later this year. With Joe, you can see where Mike learned to give to others.

Now I need to admit here that Joe is also a supporter of Bob Bisno's weapon of mass development, but Joe is a wonderful individual who I happen to disagree with, concerning Ponte Vista.

And with Mike, the great guy that he is, tried his best to stay out of that particular fray.

Yes we lose Downtown Subs and More. Maybe we will get a second Boca Activewear someplace in Rancho Palos Verdes. That may take time, but Mike and his family are always more than welcome to open up a new site closer to Western.

Thank you Mike. You done good. Keep on doing what you are so very good at. You can be an extremely good role model of service to others, that we can all learn from.

Now please Mike, how about stocking more XXL shirts for guys like me that need them?