Regulars at Gos-sip will need to make their last cup of coffee stretch out longer than usual, because after today, they won’t be able to come for their usual cup.

Friday, April 12, 2002

Regulars at Gos-sip will need to make their last cup of coffee stretch out longer than usual, because after today, they won’t be able to come for their usual cup.

After a year in operation, Gos-sip will be closing its doors for the final time tonight. Its passing is being mourned by regulars, but Gilbert Johnson, the owner, is more excited than saddened. He’s moving on to something he’s been wanting to do for a long time: Body art.

&uot;I’ve been working in food all my life – working in it too long – and it’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life,&uot; Johnson said.

&uot;Closing Gos-sip is not a financial decision, it’s a personal thing,&uot; he added. Opening the coffee house was kind of an experiment, to see if he really could do this sort of thing if he were actually in charge.

Johnson plans on opening a body art and piercing business called &uot;The Chapel&uot; at the beginning of this summer – hopefully by June 1. It all depends on how long renovations of the space he’s leasing takes, he said. The business will be located in the old Broadway Theater building on South Broadway. He also needs to be certified as a body piercer.

Whether the closing of Gos-sip means that downtown will be losing a coffee shop permanently is less clear. Johnson still owns the building and doesn’t plan on selling. Anyone interested in renting the space and opening their own business is welcome to make an offer, he said.

The coffee house created by Johnson, though, will be missed by many of its regulars.

&uot;This place is unique,&uot; said Bob Hoffman, one of Gos-sip’s regulars. He’s been a loyal customer since the end of last year.

&uot;It didn’t matter who you were. People tolerated each other a lot more, and differences from outside didn’t matter,&uot; Hoffman said. &uot;It’s a loss for the whole community.&uot;

Another regular, Cindy Allen, agreed. She said she’s found a lot of friends there. But she thinks that younger people, especially, will have lost something because it was a place where they could hang out in the evening and on weekends. No alcohol meant no age restrictions.

&uot;This is an older community and it’s hard to find a place for younger people to go,&uot; Allen said. &uot;It think it’s something that will be hard to recreate somewhere else.

&uot;It’s like the bar from Cheers without the alcohol,&uot; said Pat, another regular.

Johnson, too, will miss the people he’s met, and the chance to meet new people and make new friends.

&uot;I really like talking to people. I just don’t like serving them food,&uot; he said.