Coffee drinkers in downtown St. Cloud may have to look for a new alternative, as Oblivion Coffee Bar & Mercantile closed its doors for good on Friday.
After a year, the company closed down. A sign was hung on the door and a message was posted on Facebook and the website.
“We would like to express our deepest gratitude for your incredible support, loyalty and for being an essential part of our journey,” the website said in a statement to its customers.
The coffee house, which exuded an elegant and cozy atmosphere, served a variety of drinks.
“This decision was not an easy one and from the depths of my heart we say goodbye,” the company wrote on Facebook. “We want to express our deepest gratitude for your incredible support and loyalty and for making our store a beloved part of the downtown St. Cloud community. It has been a pleasure serving you, sharing smiles, laughter and creating countless memories over our love of a great cup of coffee.”
Owner Hailey Koep explained in a Facebook post what prompted her to close. She said she had several issues with the building, saying, “It really sucked me in from the beginning and we still haven’t figured it out.”
From funeral home to coffee house
In 1881, Arnold Daniel opened a furniture store in downtown St. Cloud. This enterprising German immigrant, who had made his living as a shipbuilder and cabinetmaker, decided to try his hand at crates. Five years later, he graduated from Champion College of Embalming in St. Paul—ready to pursue his newfound profession.
Daniel, a successful businessman, built a three-story furniture building at 11-13 Seventh Ave. N. in 1911. Twenty-one years later, the Daniel family opened the first funeral home in St. Cloud at 27 Seventh Ave. N. — which became Oblivion Coffee Bar & Mercantile a little less than a century later. Built in 1910, this ornate venue is just over 6,000 square feet, divided evenly between upstairs and downstairs.
Daniel Funeral Home is now in its fifth generation and has funeral homes in five cities in central Minnesota.
This article originally appeared in the St. Cloud Times: Oblivion Coffee Bar & Mercantile in downtown St. Cloud is closing
