Jet City Espresso was supposed to be closed by now. But the two garage doors of the gas station-turned-coffee house are still open Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. until 7 p.m., or 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. Sunday.

“A lot of people think we’re already closed, but come on by!” says Jet City owner Debbie Natelson.

Natelson started Jet City about 18 years ago, first as an espresso cart outside the former Renton City Hall and the old McLendon Hardware site (now Evergreen City Ballet).

Jet City was supposed to vacate its Second and Main corner shop by Aug. 31, to make room for a six-story apartment and retail complex called Second and Main Apartments. But the project is behind schedule, and Natelson was granted more time. Now Jet City has until the end of September, maybe longer.

“How long we’re open depends on customer support,” Natelson says.

She says community support has been “just fabulous” so far.

The usual crowd crams Jet City during the 10 a.m. hour, and cars continue to pull into the parking lot throughout each day.

Ron Hughes and a couple friends were talking politics in Jet City during a recent lunch hour. Hughes hangs out at Jet City about 15 hours a day, says his friend Norman Petersen.

“He’s not so much a regular as a part-time job,” Petersen says.

Jet City’s extra time means more behind-the-counter time for Natelson. Some of her baristas took off before the Aug. 31 deadline. Still, she calls Jet City’s extra time “a wonderful gift.”

The extension gives her time to rid the shop of its array of artifacts and kitschy items. Customers can record their bids for much of the shop’s items in a big white binder labeled “Silent Auction Bid Book.”

Natelson hopes the extra month will also provide more Jet City exposure to potential buyers. Jet City, the name and business, is still for sale.

While Natelson isn’t eager to give up Jet City, she’s run out of time and money. She also has another job, as a marketer and educator for an organic land-care company.

From a practical standpoint, Natelson says she knows she must sell Jet City. But she says it will be “strange and odd” to see someone else running the business.

“It’s sort of like selling a child,” she says.