Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Virginia Mikell no longer works at The Copper Monkey.
Carlos and Andrea Mesa met each other seven years ago while both working at The Copper Monkey.
On Saturday night, the newly married couple — who recently learned they are expecting their first child — said their last goodbyes to the place that brought them and so many others together.
Earlier in the month, owners put The Copper Monkey, located at 1700 W University Ave., up for auction on eBay. On April 13, the bar and restaurant was purchased for $80,100.01 by the owners of the bar next door, The Rowdy Reptile, according to Alligator archives.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, after 37 years of serving cheap drinks and food to students, alumni and community members in Midtown, the jukebox at The Copper Monkey blasted music for the last time. Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” was one of the last songs it played.
In the back alcove of the restaurant, as customers ate burgers and drank their beers, former staff members and long-time customers sat and retold stories from their days spent at The Copper Monkey.
Averie Johnson, the restaurant's general manager of the last eight years, said the owners first started to considering selling The Copper Monkey about three months ago.
Johnson said he first realized the city was changing when Gator City was replaced with The Social at Midtown, 1728 W University Ave. From there, newer restaurants and bars started to take the place of older ones, and the landscape around The Copper Monkey changed.
Johnson said that business had become slower with each passing year, and Gainesville seemed to stop supporting mom and pop restaurants.
“It lost the vibe Gainesville had,” Johnson said.
Johnson said that in March, the owners officially decided to sell. The Copper Monkey West in Jonesville, 14209 W Newberry Rd, will remain open.
Sally “Pre” Morris, the longest working of any former staff members, spent closing night hugging and drinking with the lifelong friends she made at The Copper Monkey. She worked as a chef for more than 12 years.
“It’s really just an awesome place,” Morris said. Throughout the night, she would hug her lifelong friends.
Andy Gillis, a long-time customer of the restaurant, proposed to his wife at The Copper Monkey. It was 1984, and at the time, she said no. Gillis laughed as he recounted the memory to others who were celebrating the bar’s last night.
“She needed me to be making money before she said yes,” Gillis said.
Some current staff members said they were upset about how little notice they received about the closure.
Virginia Mikell, The Copper Monkey's house manager for six years, heard that her former workplace would be closing just a week before Saturday. Although she wasn't working there at the time of closure, she said she wishes she knew the bar was closing earlier.
Former employee Sam Goldstein, who worked as server while he was a student at UF in 2003, said friends would frequently visit for food and drinks when he was on the clock.
Although Saturday’s final party was sad for the restaurant's past employees, remembering happy memories from The Copper Monkey made the night worth it.
“It was the best job a college kid could ever ask for,” Goldstein said. “I’m thankful to have worked at The Copper Monkey.”
