Aroma Cafe closing its doors

Aroma Cafe in Uptown Waterloo will be closing its doors March 12. 

The owners announced the details in a post on Instagram and said the decision came with a heavy heart. 

“Surviving and adapting to a pandemic, the sale of the building housing our business, and be[ing] thrown 18-months to relocate in a city where rental costs have skyrocketed was definitely not something we predicted to come our way five years ago when we took over the cafe,” read the post.

In May of last year, it was announced The Atrium building that houses Aroma Cafe had been sold to a developer.

At the time, co-owner Monica Sheridan said they were planning to move to a new location and expressed a desire to continue to operate in Uptown Waterloo.

“We love Uptown Waterloo, we love the locals here, we love the community we have created,” said Sheridan in May of 2021. 

The social media post about the closure also stated Aroma Cafe will be not be opening for indoor dining ahead of the shutdown. 

The owners said their child is not eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, “And with mandates lifting as of March 1 we must consider the safety of our child who is with us at the cafe daily, as well as our staff, customers, and selves.”

Aroma Cafe has also ended its coffee bean delivery in the interim but coffee is available for pick-up. 

Requests were made by CityNews 570 to speak with the owners about the closure.