The managers of the Ferry Building have selected a cafe to replace a local bakery that claims it is being unfairly drummed out. The owners of the bakery say this adds insult to injury.
Oakland-based Red Bay Coffee will move into the space vacated by Grande Creperie, whose owners, Patrick and Joanna Ascaso, said a verbal offer to extend their lease past June 30 was abruptly revoked because management didn’t believe the business fit the Ferry Building’s “cultural mix.”
“It hurts. It’s disappointing,” Patrick Ascaso said, adding that it is disingenuous for the Ferry Building’s management, Hudson Pacific Properties, to replace his bakery with a similar business. “Why are you putting in a coffee person, when we’re already doing coffee and more?”
The Grande Creperie proprietors, who also own the Le Marais Bakery chain, claimed on Instagram that they received a verbal commitment for a lease renewal in January, only to be told in the spring to move out. Ascaso said the business had $1.3 million in sales last year.
“We have always been told we’d be a ‘longstanding tenant,’ that they have the greatest respect for us, and we always reached target earnings,” the owners wrote. “We struggle to understand how our space could be offered when we had been given a new lease, when we transformed it into a beloved gathering spot with lines out the door.”
Hudson Pacific Properties didn’t directly address any verbal commitment in its public response to the bakery, saying Grande Creperie’s lease was always short-term, and it was “simply letting it expire rather than renewing it.”
A spokesperson emphasized that management wanted to make the marketplace “more accessible in the evenings” and had a new tenant aligned with that goal.
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While Grande Creperie was open until 3 p.m. during the week, the owners had discussed plans with management to stay open later to serve Champagne cocktails, ice cream, and raclette, Ascaso said.
Red Bay Coffee aims to open in the Ferry Building by Aug. 1. It will stay open until 8 p.m. and will serve coffee cocktails in the evenings, according to founder Keba Konte. The company worked with Alkali Rye, a firm founded by Konte’s daughter, to develop the cocktail menu, which will include Irish coffee and espresso martinis.
This isn’t Red Bay’s first foray in the Ferry Building. The company had a location in the marketplace for about four years before closing in early 2025. That cafe stayed open until 6 p.m.
“Even though the new location is about 40% smaller than our original location, it’s going to feel like it’s twice as big just because of the energy we’re going to bring,” Konte said.
He said he is working on “building our company back up again” following a turbulent fall. Red Bay filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 2024, citing “direct and lingering effects” from the pandemic and “spiraling costs” from two lawsuits. The court approved the company’s restructuring plan, and it settled its lawsuits, Konte said.
While he’s excited for the impending opening, he has empathy for the owners of Grande Creperie.
“I understand how they feel, because we experienced the same thing several months ago,” Konte said. “It’s a really tough environment for small businesses in the Bay Area, and opportunities like the Ferry Building don’t come around every day.”
For Ascaso, the replacement feels like a betrayal. “The landlord didn’t treat us fairly — that’s the truth,” he said.
His message for other small businesses is to ensure that lease-related conversations are recorded in writing as soon as they occur. Another business, Reem’s bakery, last year also described the Ferry Building’s decision not to renew its lease as “sudden.” (The former Reem’s and Red Bay locations are being combined to build out a space with both a full kitchen and seating; the renovations are ongoing.)
“We really helped bring the building back to life back in 2021,” Ascaso said. “Now that we can’t continue our journey, it’s really sad.”