Goodbye, K-Dog.

After five years, from the days of the Lincoln Road construction through the revival of Lincoln Road, today is K-Dog and Dunebuggy's last day.

With the closing of the store comes the story of the final, contentious rent negotations courtesy of an interview Gabby gave to L Magazine. The key news from the interview was that the landlord sought a rent increase of 17% plus an additional $800 per month towards the landlord's real estate taxes. I'm going to stand with Gabby on this one and say that the demand was unreasonable, particularly in light of Gabby's willingness to rent this space five years ago when Lincoln Road was a construction zone and the store was two doors down from an abandoned disaster of a building.

I didn't go to KDog as much as maybe I could have but I'll tell you the things that I remember fondly: a shockingly good Cubano, toys in the back for our son to play with and a comfortable place to sit when I joined the laptop hobo brigade as I looked for a job last winter.

KDog had a reputation in some quarters for being bougie, and I suppose (for the neighborhood, anyway) it was. You know what, though? Not having a bougie coffee shop is worse than having one. I don't know what is coming next but I do know what we're losing.

Goodbye, K-Dog. And good luck Gabby, with whatever you choose to do next.

Comments

[Bob Marvin]

Very sad--I lived here for over 30 years before K-Dog opened, but didn't know what we were missing. It will be hard to go back to that now :-(

[babs]

You're not quite going back to 30 years ago here (or even five) - just look at all the new places that have opened up since K-Dog, from restaurants like King of Tandoor, Sushi Tatsu, and Gino's, to cafe-restos like Blue Roost, to shops like 65 Fen, for a great bottle of wine NOT purchased through bulletproof partitions, and Bike Life, to newbies like Delroy's (named after the late Delroy Wilson) and forthcoming ones like Cafe Pomidor (if ever) and Basil Leaf (although I question the need for another Indian restaurant). Gabby certainly sparked a trend in this neighborhood, and I think we all owe her a great deal for that - and we all wish her only the best in the future.

[Dynishal]

The last games night on Friday and the goodbye party yesterday evening were legendary events, revealing just how beloved and needed K-Dog is. Seth did an awesome job posting the many, many e-mails sent by neighborhood residents, expressing their appreciation for the haven Gabby & her staff provided and their shock and dismay at this enormous loss. As for me, there's no describing how much I'll miss K-Dog presence on my block. Tomorrow morning's gonna be really sad.

[crownlfc]

It's a shame. I wish Gabby, her workers, and her family all the best.

It's amazing that unless food is thrown in your face - through plexiglass, somehow it's considered bougie by some.

[Bob Marvin]

The new businesses you mention are wonderful Babs, I'm happy they're here and I enjoy patronizing them. However, K-Dog was different, and, at present, no other establishment serves its former important function as community gathering place--something I, and, I suspect, many of my neighbors, will very much miss.

[Karl Marx]

There is a sign in the window at the old K-Dog space indicating that Blue Roost will be moving there.