Motor Oil Coffee closes Pine Hills location

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Motor Oil Coffee has permanently closed its shop on Madison Avenue in Albany's Pine Hills neighborhood. The owners made the announcement in a Facebook post on September 2.

"Late last month, we vacated 1034 Madison Avenue per an immediate vacate request from the building's longtime owner in order to lease the space to another establishment," read the post. The post goes on to say that Motor Oil Coffee had renegotiated the lease in November to a month-to-month lease with the stipulation that they would need to give up the property if another tenant was found.

The Pine Hills location first opened in June 2023 next to the Madison Theatre. Since then, the College of Saint Rose, CVS on Madison Avenue, and the Madison Theatre have closed. The shop was in the former Bard & Baker Board Game Café space.

In June of this year, Motor Oil Coffee paused its retail services at State Street, Slip 12, and Madison Avenue for a "reset," which included restocking, changing some food offerings, retraining staff, and deep cleaning the cafes. The State Street and Slip 12 locations reopened in July, while the Pine Hills location opened only for events.

Motor Oil Coffee was founded in 2021 by Joe Bonilla and Rich Fazio. Bonilla is also the chief experience officer (CXO) and Jermaine Carter is Motor Oil Coffee's president.

"We look forward to being back in the Pine Hills neighborhood for the Upper Madison Street Fair and will continue to explore new opportunities as they may arise," said the owners.