After passing out hundreds of fliers and organizing a protest, the Wang family says they have finally gotten the attention of their landlord.

On Saturday, the owners of Blue Note Coffee Café, 623 E. Grand River Ave., along with the Direct Action activist group, held a protest in front of Cron Management, 117 Center St.

“This was the first time that we actually saw his face since he served us the papers,” co-owner Judy Wang said referring to the letter she received from her landlord, construction management Professor Douglas Cron.

“He gave us those papers telling us we have to match an offer or move, but he never talked to us.”

Wang, who owns the cafe with her family, said her father tried to contact Cron Management on several occasions, but received no response.

She said the student activist group, which formed shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, came to her wanting to organize a protest on the cafe’s behalf.

“We would have never protested on our own,” Wang said. “Direct Action members are our customers that cared enough to motivate us to speak out about this injustice.”

Art education sophomore Laura Mullkoff, a Direct Action member, said the city loses its character when small businesses are pushed out by bigger chains.

“Local business helps to create the culture of the community,” she said.

“I’ve been coming to Blue Note since I got here. This is a good business, and it would be terrible to lose it.”

Cron briefly attended the protest Saturday and said he wanted the protesters to hear the whole story.

“Two years ago, my son was dying of cancer,” he told the group, adding that the situation put him in a position where he wasn’t able to effectively negotiate with the Wangs.

“They did not want to negotiate with me for market rent. So I put the clause in the lease that says they would have to pay market rent (if another offer was made) or match the offer or vacate.”

Cron maintained his position that he was not trying to take advantage of the Wangs, but get the best value for his property.

The cafe owners have until Oct. 31 to match the offer made by an unknown franchise or move out of the building. Judy Wang applied to participate in East Lansing’s Small Business Rental Assistance Program. If she qualifies, she could receive half the rental costs for an entire year or up to $10,000.

“I was told that 16 people have applied for the grant and so far only two have received it,” she said.

“I’m hopeful that we’ll get one, too.”

The Wangs had previously considered closing the cafe, but wanted to sell the business to another family.

“We were trying to avoid selling out to a big franchise,” Wang said.

“But now we’re losing our space to one anyway.”