A popular Anchorage cafe will close in November

Cafecito Bonito’s beforehand antagonistic area covered successful agleam decor connected Sept. 4, 2024. (Ava White/Alaska Public Media)

A celebrated Anchorage cafe will adjacent successful November. From resistance shows to mocktail lounges, Cafecito Bonito has hosted complete 300 events since it opened successful 2021.

Estrella Rodriguez-Northcut owns Cafecito, which serves a assortment of beverages, ranging from accepted options to horchata lattes. Her events are each ages, and they’re centered astir BIPOC, queer, and sober culture, she said.

Rodriguez-Northcutt precocious joined and said she’s closing to statesman a caller section of her life. She announced nan closure connected Facebook successful August. She said it’s sad erstwhile businesses adjacent without notice, and she wants to springiness nan organization a chance to opportunity goodbye.

“I chiefly did it because I consciousness for illustration nan organization successful Anchorage is conscionable truthful small. And past everyone was for illustration ‘Cafecito is closing!’ So I was like, ‘okay, I should astir apt show my customers personally, alternatively than them proceeding it done nan grapevine,’” she said.

Cafecito Bonito was nan target of a protest past year, but she said it’s besides brought nan organization together. She said nan cafe has been a crippled changer for group who are sober because location aren’t galore alcohol-free organization arena spaces successful town.

Rodriguez-Northcutt is primitively from Yuma, Arizona and said nan organization is overmuch different successful Alaska, but it wasn’t difficult fitting in. She said nan cafe has been a safe abstraction for her, and galore others.

“Back successful my hometown, we didn’t person nary queer culture. It was cool conscionable to beryllium conscionable to spot group unfastened astir it. That’s really I fell successful emotion pinch this community, conscionable because it was everything that I ne'er had,” she said.

Rodriguez-Northcutt doesn’t person a difficult closing date, but expects it’ll beryllium mid-November.