Lowertown.info—On January 2nd, 2022, the Black Dog Coffee & Wine Bar in Lowertown posted a simple notice on its front doors announcing that the Lowertown, Saint Paul hub was closing permanently.



It is hard to overstate the importance of the venue to artists, musicians, and the community over the last 20 years. Below are a compilation of local media reports about the closure of the Black Dog.

Pioneer Press: Black Dog Café closes in St. Paul’s Lowertown – Omicron, staffing issues and winter lull were factors, co-owner says (Jan 2nd)

Excerpt: The pandemic definitely changed things. In November, Andy Remke — the brother of the Remke sisters and a co-owner — spoke to the Pioneer Press about how the labor shortage was hurting the industry: Restaurants, he said, used to attract many casual workers who wanted to pick up a shift here or there for extra spending cash. “The pandemic pushed a lot of those people out of the industry,” said Remke. “We’re paying probably easily 20 percent more than we were for cooks, and probably more.” He added: “Minimum wage is certainly not a factor. The only people we have working here making the minimum wage are servers, and that’s before tips, after which they make substantially more. Everybody else — food runners, kitchen staff — they’re all making more, because that’s the labor environment we’re in.” [Read More]

KARE 11: St. Paul’s popular Black Dog Café to close (Jan 3rd)

Except: In the latest sign that the hospitality industry continues to struggle during a persistent pandemic, the owners of Black Dog Café in Lowertown, St. Paul, have decided to close their restaurant doors. “This would be the beginning of our 24th year. We’d hoped to make 25 but, you know, life has other plans for you,” said Sara Remke, who owns the restaurant along with her siblings. Remke said the restaurant survived – and even evolved – with the community and through bouts of LRT construction and, of course, COVID-19. The restaurant credits loyal customers for helping them sustain their business during the pandemic by ordering their take-out options, but Remke says the latest COVID curveball proved too much to overcome. “The past couple of months, with staff shortages, it’s just been really, really difficult. You wake up each day, going, ‘Am I bartending? Am I serving? Am I cooking? Who’s not there today?’” she said, adding, “We’re just tired, and we’re just done.” The closing of yet another neighborhood staple proves what industry advocates say is common knowledge among those who hold hospitality jobs: The recovery is far from over, and the industry needs more help. [Read More]

WCCO: ‘It’s Going To Be Sorely Missed’: Black Dog Cafe Closes In St. Paul’s Lowertown (Jan 3rd)

Excerpt: 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…. 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. [Read More]

EATER Twin Cities: St. Paul’s Eclectic Black Dog Cafe Just Closed After 23 Years (Jan 5th)

Excerpt: Black Dog Cafe, Lowertown’s go-to gathering spot since 1998, has closed its doors for good. The pioneering St. Paul coffee shop evolved over the years into a popular all-day venue with cocktails, beer, and wine. The versatile, industrial-styled space functioned as a dinner destination, casual lunch spot, art gallery, and music venue all in one. Live jazz was a big draw, especially on Saturday nights. A sign posted on the door over the weekend spelled out its sudden closure: “We are grateful for each and everyone of you that has walked through these doors. We have loved you as best we could.” Its Facebook followers responded to the news of 2022’s first big Twin Cities closure with over 200 sad and shocked messages. [Read More]

The Black Dog is opening for one last event on Saturday, January 15th

The poster added a date for the cafe’s final goodbye to the neighborhood—on Saturday, January 15th—the last night of Steve Kenny’s popular “Saturday Night Jazz at the Black Dog” series at the 23-year-old community venue.