Jan. 3—After more than two decades in business in St. Paul's Lowertown, Black Dog Cafe has closed its doors.

Co-owner Sara Remke said the closure was due to "a confluence of things, but COVID played a big part in it."

The morning-till-evening cafe, which started as a coffee shop in 1998, was really hitting its stride before the virus came to town. Remke said the cafe had its best year ever in 2019.

Of course, during the initial lockdown, times were tough, but the cafe got government help and muddled through. Then after a busy summer of 2021, omicron came to town, and with staffing woes and the natural lull in winter business, the writing was on the wall.

From the archives: A 2006 Q&A with Sara Remke of Black Dog Cafe

"This past month, it seemed like the universe was telling us we were done," Remke said.

She said the business was paying cooks $20-$24 an hour and still couldn't keep staffing levels high enough.

"I don't think anyone understands how real (staffing issues) are," Remke said.

After being a part of the neighborhood for 23 years, Remke said she'd miss the regulars.

"We have had wonderful customers over the years," she said. "I'm really going to miss that. In a way, they brought me through COVID. I was so happy to see people face-to-face, even for just a few minutes while they picked up takeout. I got that when a lot of other people didn't."

The closure was announced Sunday on the cafe's Facebook page.

"We are grateful for each and everyone of you that has walked through these doors," the post said. "We have loved you as best we could."

More than 170 comments had been posted to the popular gathering spot's Facebook page as of Monday afternoon, including these:

— "Heartbreak. Speechless. Love you."

— "We knitters will miss you terribly. Thanks for being a wonderful place to land, connect and create."

— "Thank you for being a pillar in the Lowertown community."

— "Thank you for your place, your food, the jazz."

— "Thank you so so much for providing a wonderful home to music, joy, love, and community. Lowertown will not be the same."

— "Nooo—first Betty White, now The Black Dog."

— "So so sad but I think a lot of small businesses are going to bite the dust this year."

— "A big cultural loss for St. Paul."

— "I wrote a lot of my dissertation there. Thanks for everything!"

— "Nothing can take your place."

Remke said that she appreciated all the well wishes, but she also has a message for those mourning the loss of the Lowertown gathering spot: "If you love a place, you need to go there."

The commenters will be able to say goodbye at the cafe later this month: Remke said the cafe will be open one last time on Jan. 15, starting at 4 p.m., for people to "join us for a dram or a drink and a goodbye."

SURPRISE START TO 2022

The closure was a surprise to many: The Prince Street business, located near St. Paul Farmers Market Square, Union Depot and CHS Field, gave no indication of the upcoming closure just a couple of days earlier, writing: "And to all a good night. Much love this NYE" at 1:40 a.m. on Saturday, New Year's Day.

According to its website, Black Dog was "an unpretentious, all-day gathering spot" that opened in 1998 as a "little coffee bar" and evolved into a venue known for live music nearly every night.

It was back on Oct. 27, 1997 that the Pioneer Press first reported the percolating plans for the cafe, back when Lowertown was emerging as a hot spot:

"Things are starting to howl down in Lowertown's Northern Warehouse in what was once Kuppernicus Coffee Gallery," we reported. "Sisters Sara and Stacy Remke have taken over the space and plan to open up a coffee shop/restaurant tentatively called the Black Dog Cafe ...

"Aside from throwing out a few bones to neighborhood artists by offering up the walls to display their wares, the best news is that the cafe will stay open until 10 p.m., practically an after-hours operation for downtown St. Paul."

In 1997, Sara Remke told the Pioneer Press: "We're looking forward to being a nice hub for Lowertown."

It has been a hub.

The cafe featured jazz, world, roots and bluegrass music and was particularly known for its "Saturday Night Jazz at the Black Dog," featuring the best veteran jazz musicians in the Twin Cities and up-and-coming jazz musicians.

(Read a 2006 Q&A with Sara Remke from our archives.)

EVOLUTION OF A CAFE

In early 2020, before the pandemic, Eat featured a Q&A with Sara Remke. She explained the cafe's evolution:

"First we had coffee," she said. "Then we added wine. Then people started coming in and asking for food, so we added sandwiches. Then pizza. Then soups. Then when the light rail came, we did a slight remodel. When CHS Field stadium went in, we did some more updates. Then when the Zen Center next door to us relocated, we were able to take over that space and put in a full kitchen. That's when we became a full kitchen and bar. We now make everything from scratch, from our soups to our hollandaise sauce. We now have a full menu of things like eggs and grill items such as burgers. We keep adding to our vegetarian and vegan offerings as well."

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."