Gone, Suddenly
“It came out of nowhere…going from expecting us to get an extension of sorts to the new landlords being like, ‘Oh hey, you guys gotta get all your shit out in a week,’” said 23-year-old now former barista Braulio Claro of the long rumored then abruptly realized closure.
“I feel like it’s … a very special place where I have grown a lot as a person,” Claro said on one of his last shifts. “Any time I didn’t want to be at home, I would find myself here,” he said, expressing a sentiment shared by many students, UNR staff and locals.
Rebecka Bethel and Grant Uba will miss their relaxing times inside and right outside Bibo’s, which felt to many like a grittier, more expressive and freer enclave than most other areas in and around the university.
“Character Destroying” Gentrification
22-year-old Rebecka Bethel explained that while she is sad, she is also frustrated with the deeper issues connected to the closing. “Over the past few years it’s been really apparent that Reno is getting gentrified,” she said. “All the houses on 4th street and Ralston are being torn down to build a ‘Neon district’…those are peoples’ homes.”
“It seems like there’s a lot of land elsewhere without having to destroy a lot of the character that is Reno,” said Bibo co-owner Paul Martin.
Old homes on nearby blocks, some with deep historical significance, are also being moved or destroyed to give way to new luxury student housing and UNR’s expansion. Bibo Coffee Company has other locations around town and is trying to reopen one near campus, but some former patrons say they feel it will be difficult to recreate the unique atmosphere it had in its Record street location, across from railroad tracks, with plenty of trees providing shade, and a view of Reno’s downtown skyline.
Listen to an audio feature on one of the last days of the coffee shop here: https://soundcloud.com/user-677215943