'It's Going To Be Sorely Missed': Black Dog Cafe Closes In St. Paul's Lowertown

ST. PAUL (WCCO) -- A popular place to grab a coffee or enjoy jazz in the Twin Cities is closing for good.

For more than two decades, Black Dog Cafe in St. Paul's Lowertown neighborhood served customers doing homework, holding a meeting or just looking for a warm drink with a little music playing in the background.

On Sunday, the owners posted a Facebook message thanking everyone who walked through their doors.

Now neighbors are feeling the loss.

"It's going to be sorely missed," said patron Maggie Strand.

She says she went there often. Her teenage daughter even worked there.

"It's going to be a huge huge hole in this community," Strand said.

Artist Ta-coumba T. Aiken has been called the Mayor of Lowertown. The Black Dog was his city hall.

"This is one of the pillars of the community, so with this going I don't know what else can really hold," he said.

Aiken said he created some of his best artwork on the Black Dog's patio.

"I would just come over and paint," he said.

Co-owner Sara Remke says it was more than just COVID that closed the neighborhood institution.

"This December just kicked our butts," she said.

Global supply chain problems and the worker shortages were the final straws.

"Everyday it was like, am I going to be cooking, am I going to be bartending, am I going to be serving, we are just a little bit old for that," she said.

Officially New Year's Even was the Black Dog's last night, but owners will have one last party on Jan. 15, so they can say goodbye and thank you to all their regulars.

Black Dog has been in business in the Lowertown neighborhood since 1998.