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Closing statement | ArchiveA queer, Yiddish, anarchist café in the south side which offered coffees and vegan food on a pay-what-you-can basis has announced it is to close in a heartfelt post on its website.
The Pink Peacock Cafe on Victoria Road in Govanhill opened in 2020 as a late-night dry (non-alcoholic) queer café and community space selling plant-based Jewish food.
However, in a post on their website, they revealed that were being forced to close in part due to "burnout" but also due to "right-wing backlash", "antisemitic vitriol" and harassment.
They posted: "We’re so sad it’s come to this, and we want to be transparent about what’s been happening. The short answer is burnout.
"Most of us are disabled, and the ongoing pandemic is still hurting our collective physical and mental health. The constant battle to keep ourselves financially afloat didn’t help."
However, they also wanted to thank the community and customers for their support.
They added: "While the burnout is real and the harassment has really affected us, we’ve also received so much love and support: from our local community, the Jewish diaspora, and other anarchist groups in Glasgow and beyond.
"We’ve had dozens of wonderful volunteers drift in and out of the collective to offer their time and expertise, and countless others have donated their skills, money, furniture, art, and voices to this project. We could not have done any of this without you."
They said that they are proud to have shown that their "anti-capitalism in action" works, describing the pay-what-you-can-down-to-£0 model as a "love letter to a better future".
"Since we started at the onset of the pandemic, we’ve served thousands of free meals and hosted hundreds of queer, Jewish, and anarchist events," they continued.
"We’ve connected our diasporic communities to what we built in Glasgow, making it accessible not just to those in the communities the café is built to prioritise, but all who want or need.
"We created a beautiful space that was damn close to what we want to see in the world. We’ve proven that it’s possible, that we can come together as comrades and make things better."
They confirmed they will be closing for the final time on Wednesday, June 14, and invited people to come join them for a coffee or to donate to help with closing costs.
You can find out more and read the full statement on their website.
This is the place that got in trouble a couple years ago for displaying a "fuck the police" tote bag in their window.with very heavy hearts, we’re sad to say that the pink peacock is closing its doors on wednesday 14 june 2023. the hours for our final week are:
tuesday june 6: 12pm–4pm
wednesday june 7: 12pm–4pm
thursday june 8: closed
friday june 9: 12pm–4pm
saturday june 10: 12pm–4pm
sunday june 11: 12pm–4pm
monday june 12: 12pm–4pm
tuesday june 13: 12pm–4pm
wednesday june 14: 12pm–4pm
we’re so sad it’s come to this, and we want to be transparent about what’s been happening. the short answer is burnout. we’ve all been volunteers this whole time, and like everyone we’re struggling under capitalism and kyriarchy. most of us are disabled, and the ongoing pandemic is still hurting our collective physical and mental health. the constant battle to keep ourselves financially afloat didn’t help.
on top of the expected right-wing backlash from terfs and bootlickers, we have received a frankly astonishing amount of antisemitic vitriol over the last 3 years from self-described leftists who have doxxed us, harassed us online and off, and spread rumors about us being “landlord” “bosses” “profiting off the holocaust” and “shitting in mailboxes”. harassment from the SWP was the most organized, but most of it came from elsewhere. several of our members have moved away or are planning to move soon, in part due to the jewish isolation, unchecked antisemitism in scotland and the impact of this harassment.
some of us have also faced racism internally from the collective. as is depressingly common in majority-white leftist spaces, the racist harm was diminished and the people of color were not supported but met with defensiveness and sealioning from some white collective members. in the end, the sealioners resigned or were removed, followed by others who worried about the “implications” of centering the people of color when it comes to racism. the whole episode dwindled morale, cut our capacity, and maimed our spirits.
while the burnout is real and the harassment has really affected us, we’ve also received so much love and support: from our local community, the jewish diaspora, and other anarchist groups in glasgow and beyond. we’ve had dozens of wonderful volunteers drift in and out of the collective to offer their time and expertise, and countless others have donated their skills, money, furniture, art, and voices to this project. we could not have done any of this without you.
we’re sorry our hours have been sporadic recently: nothing was more important to us than keeping our doors open so people have access to free food, literature, and community, and we were doing our best.
shortcomings aside, we have done incredible work: the pink peacock is anti-capitalism in action. the pay-what-you-can-down-to-£0 model is a love letter to a better future, and our attempt to bring it closer even as the world falls apart around us. since we started at the onset of the pandemic, we’ve served thousands of free meals and hosted hundreds of queer, jewish, and anarchist events. we’ve connected our diasporic communities to what we built in glasgow, making it accessible not just to those in the communities the café is built to prioritize, but all who want or need. we created a beautiful space that was damn close to what we want to see in the world. we’ve proven that it’s possible, that we can come together as comrades and make things better. that mutual aid works. for 3 years it worked! in this hostile world, that’s something to be proud of.
if this space has meant anything to you, please tell us (we’re very sad right now), and come see us in our last week. it’s your last chance to get pay-what-you-can books and stickers and pins and food from us!
we’re also hoping to raise some money to cover our closing costs, so it doesn’t fall on us as individuals. you can help by coming in for a coffee, ordering something online (everything’s still PWYC down to £0), or donating money. any extra funds we have when we’re closed will be offered to the small trans library.
we know we’re behind on our online orders: we will be fulfilling all historic orders made from the online shop, and refunding any products you paid for but are backordered or no longer in stock. the last day to order from us will be june 15.
oylam ha’bo / the world to come / revolution is inevitable, and we’re so glad the pink peacock was part of bringing it closer, in our small way. this is the end of the café, but it isn’t the end of our queer jewish anarchism: watch out, we’re everywhere!
with love and solidarity,
the pink peacock collective
