Monk’s Rock closes suddenly, perhaps for good

A popular Kodiak cafe has apparently shut down after more than two decades in business. Monk’s Rock Coffeehouse & Bookstore posted on social media on Tuesday that it had closed its doors for the foreseeable.

A Facebook post has since been deleted. Efforts to reach the owners were unsuccessful. But its phone number played the following outgoing message on Tuesday afternoon:

“Thank you for calling Monk’s Rock Cafe and Bookstore. We are closed today and until further notice, we apologize for any inconvenience. But thank you for all your support. Thank you and God bless.”

The cafe is owned and operated by a nonprofit formerly known as St. Innocent of Alaska Orthodox Mission. It’s since changed its name to St. John the Wonder Worker Orthodox Mission.

Monk’s Rock’s manager Herman Hill was quoted by the Kodiak Daily Mirror saying many of the cafe’s mission volunteers were returning to the Lower 48 to seek paid work. That left too few people to staff the coffee shop and bakery that’s been a fixture on Rezanof Drive for 24 years. And it’s unclear whether the closure is permanent or temporary.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned to KMXT 100.1 FM for more.