Lakebridge Forza Coffee Shop in Lakewood Closes Its Doors Friday

They started with a prayer to open the coffee shop, and now the owners are donating 10 percent of their profits during a small concert Friday before closing the business with a final prayer.

The community-oriented coffee shop off Bridgeport Way in Lakewood never got off the ground. Co-owner Gil Quante said he and business partner Frank Murakami were barely eking by since opening the shop in October 2010. In 15 months of operating, Quante said there was only one month of profitability.

"The magic numbers never came in at the end of the month," Quante said.

That's not deterring the pair. Quante and Murakami have purchased the DuPont Forza and are finalizing plans to move a new Forza into the . They believe there's still plenty of light at the end of the tunnel.

The plan, according to Quante, is to take his staff of six baristas and two managers along with the equipment they own and move it into a location with higher traffic. The Lakewood Y count is about 2,200 people per day on average.

"If we can capture just 9 percent, that's 2 1/2 times more business," he said.

A community coffee shop

Lakebridge Forza was a hub for bringing community groups together. It hosted mini concerts, business fairs, open mic nights and fundraisers for local nonprofit organizations like the Boys & Girls Club.

The most popular was a networking group coordinated by independent business owner James Fowler, who said that Lakebridge Forza had a reputation for being

Their weekly meetings, in contrast with the success of the business, did well by bringing in about 30 business owners on average. Fowler is already working on moving the group to the Lakewood Y location but said the current space will be missed.

"I was depressed," Fowler said when he heard that Lakebridge Forza was closing. "I felt like someone shot my dog. I'm here more than home."

Fowler added that he enjoyed coming to Forza because of its spacious lobby and community-driven spirit spearheaded by Quante and Murakami.

Quante said that while the business didn't pan out, it was Lakebridge Forza that gave them the opportunity of the Lakewood Y and Dupont location.

"Sentimentally it hurts," he said. "It’s a ding on your pride because you didn’t make it work but you flip the coin and you’re excited."