Mocha Coffee closes as indoor dining debate continues

As hopes dim for the return of indoor dining, another southern Brooklyn eatery has gone out of business.

Mocha Coffee, at 8602 Fourth Ave., joins a long list of defunct favorites such as Uncle Louie G’s Bay Ridge, Sal & Jerry’s Bakery, Kim Chee, My Thai, Danish Athletic Club, and La Sorrentina Ristorante.

Meanwhile Mayor Bill de Blasio, won’t commit to a date when indoor dining can resume.

“Our health team is looking at this issue all the time, and we’re going to be working closely with the state on this as well,” said de Blasio. “Is there a point, is there a way where we can do something safely with indoor dining? So far we have not had that moment, honestly.

“I do expect, pray for and expect a vaccine in the spring that will allow us all to get more back to normal.”

Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, said the situation for restaurant owners is desperate.

“With indoor dining resuming soon in New Jersey, New York City will be surrounded by indoor dining but locked out from participating at significant economic peril,” he said. “The situation is at a boiling point and our government leaders must immediately develop a plan to reopen indoor dining across the five boroughs, like what’s been provided to restaurants throughout the rest of the state.”

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