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Nigel mentioned this yesterday, and a story in the campus paper confirms that my coffeehouse of choice, Mojo's Daily Grind, is closing at the end of December.

I'm pretty disappointed about this, since Mojo's has long been a part of my routine. Mojo's has its problems for sure - the bathrooms are filthy and the coffee is sub-par, but I find Mojo's a good place to get work done. Little City, which is across the street from the College of Communications, has excellent coffee, but it often feels like an extension of the RTF department. During the day, I can count on running into a faculty member or fellow grad student. It's a good place to take a break, but not a good place to work. When the weather is nice, I'll often go to Spiderhouse, which has a huge funky garden, but its indoor seating is very limited, so if it's cold or rainy, I can't expect to find a table. Mojo's is the only coffeehouse with enough seating and enough space to be a reliable place to work, and now it is gone.

Nigel remarks that "the Drag really isn't the Drag anymore," and I have to agree. What was once a funky collection of shops is dominated by the University Co-op's clothing shops and corporate chains like Einstein's Bagels. For me, the closing of Sound Exchange marked the end of the Drag as a site of bohemian culture, but Mojo's closing puts the nail in the coffin.