It's been about seven months since Palm Springs city officials gave Ignition Coffee Lounge the OK to stay open until 1:30 a.m. Owners say the eclectic coffee shop has struggled, but it's been “getting by” ever since.

Ignition is expanding to include a deli, pizza and hot-food station to attract more revenue — and stay in business — owners Moussa and Amy Raei said Oct. 16.

Aaron Raei, who works at the shop with parents Moussa and Amy, said the deli station should be completed in November.

It's a strategy to bring in more dollars, “like everyone else should do” in downtown Palm Springs, amid a slow economy and widespread vacancies, Aaron Raei said.

Ignition, with its urban and internationally styled interior, serves as Palm Springs' only after-hours venue for local youth younger than 21 to hang out and enjoy open mic nights and live bands in an alcohol-free environment, the Raeis said.

A conflict over Ignition's future arose in February, when a stabbing in front of the shop alerted the city that Ignition was staying open until 2 a.m. or later on weekends.

Ignition's Land Use Permit only allowed it to stay open until 11 each night, and city officials insisted the business close at that time.

“This is not a case of staff trying to stop business,” Palm Springs Director of Planning Services Craig Ewing said in March. “This is about trying to protect downtown.”

Ewing said he had consulted with the Palm Springs Police Department before denying a request by Ignition to stay open until 4 a.m.

Amy Raei, however, said she had a verbal agreement with city planners in November 2006 that Ignition could stay open later on the weekends. The Raeis said their late-night weekend clientele was critical for the business to survive.

On March 27, after about five weeks of public discussion, the Planning Commission voted to let Ignition stay open until 1:30 a.m.

On Oct. 16, the Raeis said those five weeks cost them an estimated $10,000 in lost late-night sales and attorney fees to work with the city.