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Corner Coffee Junction, a locally-owned coffee shop/bakery in the Town of Dillwyn, announced this week it will be closing its doors for good after a year and a half of operation.

The small cafe, owned by husband and wife duo Dick Midkiff and Radha Metro-Midkiff, was opened on Main Street in Dillwyn Nov. 21, 2019.

News of the business’ closure came Thursday afternoon, April 8, in the form of a social media post on the Corner Coffee Junction Facebook page.

“It is with some great sadness and some great relief that Dick and I are announcing that we are closing Corner Coffee Junction,” Metro-Midkiff wrote in the Facebook update. “I think in the best of years running a restaurant is a difficult business. This last year, it has been overwhelming for the most seasoned of restaurateurs. At the end of the day, we realized that running a restaurant on a day-to-day basis just isn’t for us. Some people have such a passion for food that all the sacrifices make sense. But, for us we have come to understand that our joy lives in our other business pursuits.”

Metro-Midkiff said Friday the pair have received several inquiries from individuals interested in acquiring the space. She said she and her husband have their fingers crossed that future building owners may want to keep the space a coffee shop or bakery.

While financial hardships incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered many businesses last summer, Metro-Midkiff acknowledged Friday that many businesses have made it this far only to close down now when the mass vaccination of the population is in progress and things are looking up.

“I think the last year has been particularly hard on restaurant owners,” she added. “I can’t discount that that was part of it.”

Corner Coffee Junction’s Facebook post listed the last day of operation for the shop as Saturday, April 10.

Dozens of area residents left remarks in the comment section of the update thanking owners and employees for more than a year of coffee, treats and smiles.

“We so appreciate all the incredible support we have had over the last year and a half,” Metro-Midkiff added in the Thursday update. “We have met so many new faces and gained new friends.”