Turtle Island Coffee Shop in downtown Bend announced on Feb. 27 that it will close its doors in early March. After over a year of operating, the owners made the decision to cease operations due to “the challenging and unsustainable current economic climate.”
The queer- and Indigenous-owned coffee shop is located on Oregon Avenue, next to The Capitol and Wild Rose. It opened in June 2023, taking over the space previously occupied by Bend Mountain Coffee. Co-owners Teh Sanchez and Beth Brady opened the space in hopes of it becoming a hub for the queer community.
The two said they were saddened to have to close their doors, as they were committed to creating a safe and inclusive space for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
“Our mission was to provide a sanctuary where marginalized and othered folkx could feel seen, valued and empowered,” read a statement from the shop’s Instagram, announcing the closure.
“We poured our hearts into building Turtle Island Coffee as a place for connection, celebration, and community. We envisioned it as a space where people could freely express themselves, find solace and collaborate on positive change. We also valued and encouraged strong, true white allyship from those committed to doing their own work and fostering positive change within their communities.”
The shop will have its last day of operations on March 9.
This article appears in The Source Weekly February 27, 2025.
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Sad to hear.
As with Kevista Coffee (openly far right politically), I’ve never really understood folks bringing their personal or political lives into a business.
Seems like you eliminate a large group of customers that aren’t going to patronize your business. Certainly a worthy cause and it was nice to have a place in Bend to remind all visitors that Bend is an opening and welcoming community……..something this County needs. When you get outside of the core of Bend………it’s not exactly a hot bed of tolerance and open minds.