What's Up With Construction At Penn Ave Coffee Shop and Book Store?

Anyone passing through the intersection of West 50th Street and Penn Ave South in the last few days couldn't help but notice that the front of one of its buildings is missing.

Instead, construction workers are giving a facelift to the storefronts housing Sparrow Cafe, the Paperback Exchange, and the future home of a wine bar run by the Broder family.

"They started early, which caught us a little off-guard, but we're really excited. It should look great when finished and the sooner, the better," Sparrow Cafe owner Jasper Rajendren wrote in an email to Patch on Wednesday. "We are very excited: the (larger) windows will give the space a more modern and open feel and a better presence on corner, as well as better visibility from the street. And, it will showcase our fantastic mural from Broken Crow; 'Sparrows in the Drippy Forest,' not to mention give us a better-functioning front door!"

Rajendren said the construction could be completed by next week, at which point Sparrow Cafe would re-open.