Little Italy café-restaurant Cagibi announces it’s closing


“Between the lockdowns, the ceilings collapsing and, mostly, the fact that we’re getting evicted from our space, we’ve had to decide that it is the end of this adventure,” the café said.

Article content

A cooperative operated by and for the queer community, the café at 6596 St-Laurent Blvd. said the main reason for the closing was that it was being evicted.

“These last years have been rough for the Cagibi, for queer spaces and for social economy,” the Instagram post said.

“Between the lockdowns, the ceilings collapsing and, mostly, the fact that we’re getting evicted from our space, we’ve had to decide that it is the end of this adventure,” it added.

Its last day in business was Sunday, said Nat, who answered the phone, but declined an interview because they were waiting tables and feeling “overwhelmed.”

“We have maintained this project, which was one of the last autonomous spaces to have survived the last two years, as long as we could,” the post continued, thanking supporters for “being there with us.”

The space will reopen for previously scheduled events, it said.

The former Mile End mainstay became a symbol of gentrification when it was forced out of its previous location by a rent hike, after developers Jeremy Kornbluth and Brandon Shiller bought the building where it had been located.


Leave a Comment