Anarchy don't come cheap
The Anarchist
This is funny. As in so deluded, it's funny.
The Anarchist, an anticapitalist speciality coffee shop and radical community space on stolen land
in Toronto, run by self-described white cisgender queer
Gabriel Sims-Fewer, is closing due to lack of financial wherewithal, only a year after having opened. Its drip coffee was sold on a pay-what-you-can basis, subsidised by overpricing on other goods, including merchandise that could only appeal to similarly-minded leftist loonies. It was a business model mocked as being capitalist-adjacent at best. And, oddly enough, it doesn't appear to have been sustainable. Who'd've thunk it? (thinking)
The café was Founded on a huge amount of experience at the cafe level of the specialty coffee industry
, albeit seemingly none of the necessary make-money-to-stay-in-business experience. What's truly laughable, though, is the owner railing against the ethically bankrupt capitalists, who didn't give him the money he needed to continue telling them to fuck off. The lack of awareness is staggering. (shrug)
Sadly, The Anarchist will be closing its doors on May 30th. It's been an amazing experience, connecting with so many great community members, sparking desperately needed debate, raising the blood pressure of Conservatives (that includes you, "anarcho-capitalists" and "Libertarians"), fulfilling the dream of most service workers by not having to tolerate the presence of professional class-traitors (pigs and military), and experimenting with living and working in ways that don't enthusiastically embrace the pure misanthropy of Capitalism. Unfortunately, the lack of generational wealth/seed capital from ethically bankrupt sources left me unable to weather the quiet winter season, or to grow in the ways needed to be sustainable longer-term. I'd like to say a huge thank you to Pop Coffee Works, my coffee supplier and landlords, for their generosity and patience; they could easily have sold this space, or rented for more than twice what they've charged me, so this place wouldn't have existed without them. They roast the best coffee in the city, so please continue to support them if you buy coffee beans. I would also like to thank my partners, friends, and family for their huge amounts of support, without which I'd honestly be dead, or at least unhoused by now, my awesome suppliers for providing the books/art/merch that have been such a huge part of what this place is, and all the customers who have given their very vocal, and of course financial, support over the past year. The Anarchist has been a huge success in every way I hoped, and has given me so much inspiration and education that I plan to put to use in future projects. Keep an eye on the instagram page to see what I end up doing next! Fuck the rich. Fuck the police. Fuck the state. Fuck the colonial death camp we call "Canada". Solidarity Gabriel a.k.a The Anarchist
Pop Coffee Works gives an impression of being more clued-in when it comes to staying in business. Especially when selling a set of three coffee glasses for a bargain basement $100 (on sale, down from $110). Looks like they've got the capitalism shtick nailed!
Personally, as someone who's not a coffee aficionado, drip coffee is disgusting.
Could delusion be its own virtue?
NOT Closing Down! Thanks to a huge influx of support, and a very generous donation of publicity and attention from the Christian Conservatives of Texas and Florida, The Anarchist will continue to operate after May 30th. I'm not sure how long I will keep operating in the current location (a future in a new Toronto location is looking more and more possible), though hopefully for the rest of the Summer. I have a lot of offers of support to pursue before I'll know what the future of the shop is, and hope people will keep up the support in whatever way they can. Keep an eye on instagram for updates! Still very much fuck the rich, the police, and Kkkanada. Gabriel, a.k.a The Anarchist