THE Cathedral Coffee Lounge had temporarily shut its doors in March because of COVID-19, but last Thursday, “with a sad heart”, it was decided that the doors would stay shut for good.
It had battled a slowdown in foot traffic for years but, like many local joints, it was no match for lockdowns and quarantines.
Catholic Women’s League Brisbane archdiocese president Sandy O’Donohue said it was no longer viable to keep the lounge open both because of economic downturn and social distancing requirements.
“It’s with a sad heart I have to do this – but there’s nothing else I can do, it’s just not viable anymore,” she said.
“And there’s that many coffee shops that are closing because of this (pandemic).
“But there’s also that many coffee shops that are open for people to just walk in and grab a coffee and it is a lot easier than coming down into the basement.”
Marjorie Williams, who had worked at the lounge for 20 years, said she wanted to thank all the volunteers.
“We’ve had wonderful volunteers; and a lot of the original ones who have passed away unfortunately,” she said.
Mrs O’Donohue said most of all she would miss the people.
“The people who come in and the friendliness that we had, and meeting all those different people and our association with the people – that was a big part of our life,” she said.
She assured the CWL would persevere.
“We’ll still be an entity in the archdiocese, just the coffee shop won’t be there for our people to come and laugh and have a coffee,” she said.
“I just want to thank the people in the precinct for their support,” Mrs O’Donohue said.
She also wanted to thank Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge who had supported her in the process and cathedral facilities manager Roger Bishop who had always helped to set up events for the CWL.
“The Catholic Leader too, you’ve always been supportive of us and these are the people who have made us who we are,” she said.
The Cathedral Coffee Lounge had been run under one name or another since 1927.
Furniture and kitchen wares would be going up for sale while memorabilia would be maintained by the CWL and the archdiocesan archives.
