Democracy, a vegan café that operated on Locke Street South in Hamilton’s Kirkendall neighbourhood, closed permanently in December, according to CBC Hamilton. The closure came roughly two months after staff at the café had signed their first collective agreement following a recent unionization effort, prompting some workers to question the timing of the shutdown.
In a message to staff viewed by CBC Hamilton at the time, Democracy’s owner, Chris Mindorff, said the café was closing “due to the recent resignations of key management and my inability to continue front line supervision and day-to-day operations.” Mindorff did not respond to requests for comment when CBC Hamilton followed up on the closure.
A café with a loyal following
Democracy had built a reputation among Hamilton regulars, many of whom told CBC Hamilton they were disappointed when the vegan café shut its doors. Business registration records reviewed by CBC show Mindorff remains the director of several companies tied to other Hamilton-area cafés, including Mulberry Coffeehouse and Paisley Coffeehouse and Eatery in Hamilton, as well as Station 1 Coffeehouse in Grimsby, Ont. Those other locations were not reported as affected by Democracy’s closure.
The closure drew attention beyond the immediate loss of a neighbourhood café because of its timing relative to the union drive. Workers who had recently organized told CBC Hamilton they questioned whether the shutdown was connected to the newly signed collective agreement, though Mindorff’s message to staff attributed the decision to management resignations and his own difficulty maintaining daily operations and supervision.
New tenant moves into the space
The space Democracy once occupied on Locke Street South did not stay empty. In September, a new business called Locke Cycle & Social opened in the same building, offering both food service and light bicycle repairs such as flat-tire fixes. The new shop’s owner, Mustafa Ismail, told CBC Hamilton he is the sole owner and has no connection to Mindorff or Democracy’s previous operations.
Ismail said he rents the property from its longtime owner, who has held it for almost 40 years, and that he was drawn to the space after finding a rental listing that included a full kitchen. He said the opening generated far more attention than he anticipated, with numerous customers and neighbourhood residents specifically asking whether he was connected to Democracy’s former ownership. A post in a local Kirkendall neighbourhood Facebook group when the shop opened explicitly noted, “Not the same owners as Democracy,” reflecting how closely residents were still tracking what happened to the café.
Ismail said longtime customers have told him how much Democracy meant to them, and that he hopes to foster a similar sense of community in the space going forward, even though the business itself is unrelated to the café that came before it. He said staff have told him the intense local interest in ownership and continuity was simply typical of how closely Hamilton residents follow changes in their neighbourhood businesses.
While Locke Cycle & Social now occupies the storefront, its opening is a separate business venture under new ownership, not a continuation, relaunch, or rebrand of Democracy. The café itself, along with its unionized staff and the vegan menu regulars had come to know, ceased operating for good in December, according to the reporting.
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