ST. LOUIS — Go-to coffee spot Coffee Cartel will brew its last cup in the Central West End Tuesday.
The coffee shop made the announcement online Monday morning.
“With great sadness, we regret to say that Tuesday, October 16 will be our final day of business after 22 proud years,” Coffee Cartel wrote on its website.
Coffee Cartel is a 24/7 operation, serving weary-eyed paramedics and law students alike. In all those years, they've never closed their doors. That will change with abbreviated hours Monday night.
"We've never closed. So, I had to actually find the keys this morning because we've never locked our doors in 22 years. We've never been closed," owner Dennis Gorg said. "Every holiday, every day, every overnight we've never been closed. It's a very weird experience, surreal really."
Gorg cited “dramatic decreases” in sales: 24 percent this year and 11 percent last year.
“It’s just not possible to continue to operate with monthly losses,” the business wrote online.
Gorg said it was hard to blame the drop in business on one thing, but he believes more competition and changes in customer habits have something to do with it.
"It could be crime in the city, it could be the parking meters, it could be the weather or a combination of all of those things," he added.
Coffee Cartel will close at 10 p.m. Monday and will reopen for its final day Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. As a thank you to customers, Coffee Cartel is giving out a free scoop of ice cream all day Tuesday.
"We hope people will stop by and say goodbye," Gorg said.
Coffee Cartel is located at Maryland Plaza and Euclid Avenue, across the street from a Starbucks. There's also a Kaldi's Coffee just a few blocks away.
"The Central West End is a fantastic neighborhood and our location at #2 Maryland Plaza and Euclid is at the heart of it. This is a wonderful space with a great patio and we hope a new opportunity comes along to this corner that everyone will embrace," Coffee Cartel wrote.
Coffee Cartel added that over its 22 years in business they were proud to have supported 45 sports teams as their sponsors and more than 450 charities. Coffee Cartel said it has received more than 200 "best of" awards from local, regional and national publications.
"We've been really proud of the fact that we've been more than just a coffee shop. We were a place for people to come, a community center, a gathering spot," Gorg said. "It's a sad time for us, for sure."
