Twisted Cafe Temporarily Closes After Burglary

Twisted Cafe, an American fusion restaurant and hookah lounge in the Lower East Side neighborhood, is closed until further notice following a break-in and burglary that occurred last Wednesday, Nov. 2. Twisted Cafe is located at 1505 N. Farwell Ave.

Owner Melissa Latavong, who opened the cafe in December 2021, said that the thieves took the cash register, bottles of liquor, a garbage can and the point-of-sale (POS) system from the restaurant.

The latter is what’s preventing Latavong from reopening. Without it, she said, the restaurant is unable to keep track of orders or accept payments from customers.

Latavong is working with her insurance company and said she hopes to welcome back customers by Wednesday, but it will depend on when the new POS system arrives.

The Pasta Tree, a restaurant directly south of Twisted Cafe on Farwell Avenue, experienced a similar break-in in June, according to Latavong.

Despite that, the burglary came as a shock to Latavong. “I didn’t think anything was going to happen to my business,” she said.

“I hope it doesn’t happen to anyone else,” Latavong added, noting that she hopes customers are understanding of her situation. The business has received several supportive messages via social media.

“We didn’t want to be closed or anything, we’re just waiting on the system. So we’ll probably be back soon, and I hope customers could still come back and support my business as usual,” she said. “Trust me, I want to be open as well.”

Twisted Cafe serves brunch, lunch and dinner. The fusion menu features intriguing crossovers such as cheeseburger eggrolls and waffledogs (a waffle on a stick with sweet or savory toppings). The cafe also offers a variety of corn dogs, pizza, wings and a crispy chicken sandwich. Brunch items include stuffed french toast, chicken and waffles and a Japanese-inspired fluffy pancake.

Coffee and cocktails are also available, as well as various flavors of hookah.

Twisted Cafe’s usual hours are Wednesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.