A bitter sibling rivalry has reached its climax at the beloved Cafe Regular in Park Slope, leaving the coffee bar’s enigmatic owner Martin O’Connell out and his sister now running the show.
Anne O’Connell has wrested control of the Parisien-styled 11th Street cafe from her brother, and has begun an aesthetic overhaul that Cafe Regular fans are already boycotting.
“Business has plummeted” since news of the ouster, said one concerned Regular regular. “People are staying away in protest.”
The loyalty to Martin stems from his old-school approach to running an espresso joint that resisted popular frills such as wireless Internet access and an electronic cash register.
A worker said that Anne will begin the renovations over the Thanksgiving holiday, when the café will be closed for the week. A new cash register, countertop, Internet access and even uniforms — gasp! — are on the horizon.
“Martin really doesn’t have anything to do with this place anymore,” said the employee, Caroline Cusano. “It’s really a mess, we don’t know what it’s going to look like when we come back [next week].”