By Roxy Osborne

For many University of Louisville students, their morning routine is not complete without a freshly brewed cup of coffee. A popular choice among the student body has been Old Louisville Coffee Co-op, a quaint but quirky spot on 316 W Ormsby Ave.

To the dismay of coffee drinkers around the city, OLCC’s Instagram announced on Feb. 2 that its last day of operation will be March 22. They were in business for four years before the closure.

The reasons are personal

The shop is queer and worker-owned, making it a standout in Louisville’s coffee scene. Instead of a traditional hierarchical staff structure, each worker has an equal amount of say in the business’s operations.

Cricket Diggs, one of the co-owners, says the decision to close the shop was intentionally undisclosed.

“Things ending doesn’t always mean failure. Sometimes, you just learn and grow when a chapter ends.”

Multiple personal reasons among the co-owners influenced the co-op’s closure. Fatigue from the customer service industry and its “unsustainability” were major factors for Diggs.

Difficulties running a co-op

Diggs specified that the decision to close the business was a collective agreement between the co-owners. The co-op has had 13 workers since opening in 2022, with nine being the most active at one time. There are now three co-owners.

Although a specific reason wasn’t named for closing the coffee shop, managing a co-op business is a constant battle for Diggs.

“Being an owner of a business isn’t something that you just inherently know. You can’t just add bodies.”

Diggs says managerial experience under a “capitalist system” doesn’t always mean that someone is well-equipped for a co-op work environment.

Future of the space

In a follow-up Instagram post published on Feb. 4, OLCC announced a desire to help another co-op take over the space after it closes.

“We need more third spaces in general,” Diggs said. “There needs to be spaces where you can just exist without having to pay money. Most restaurants expect some kind of transaction if you just want to hang out.”

Diggs and the other co-owners have been contacted by interested parties to take over the space. While most of them aim to keep the coffee business, one has expressed a desire to turn the space into a multi-vendor market similar to Fleur de Flea.

“This location already has a customer base and is set up for a coffee shop,” Diggs said. “We’re facilitating the connection to the community.”

Regardless of what business takes over, maintaining the co-op model is important to Diggs.

“It’s the only way you actually benefit from the production of your labor,” said Diggs. “Most business setups that have an owner are only able to stay in profit by underpaying and exploiting their labor.”

Photo by Roxy Osborne / The Louisville Cardinal