It’s time to bid farewell to a multi-faceted local business – Mondragon. The local restaurant, coffeehouse, grocer, and bookstore will be closing its doors on Jan. 26.

Mondragon spent 18 years situated in the Albert Street Autonomous Zone building in the Exchange District, feeding the mouths and minds of Winnipeggers searching for vegan fare and anarchist reads.

Mondragon operated as a collective with a commitment “to political and social activism.” Staff members worked in the absence of hierarchy, meaning no one was the boss.

To Charley Justice, a past worker at the co-op, the close is not surprising.

“It’s been pretty visible for almost a year that things were spiraling beyond repair and required some drastic changes to keep the place alive. Those changes didn’t happen; the business is bankrupt. Market economy is ruthless and can easily make places like Mondragon no longer exist.”

The bookstore is currently holding a giant sale, and from Jan. 21 to Jan. 25, books will be 66 per cent reduced.