Fort Defiance was an amazing little coffee shop/restaurant/bar. The day it opened, it felt like it had already been there for ten years, or longer. Lots of attention to detail, few pretensions. Some particularly memorable details: the shrine to Charles H. Baker Jr., the built-in seltzer system, the best Irish coffee in the city. Over the years, the food had its ups and downs in terms of ambitions—I gather kitchen staffing was often unstable. Throughout, the drinks program was highly stable and tasteful, steered by owner and Pegu Club alumni St. John Frizell. The joint was a gem, and a major community asset for one of the more remote communities in the city.
Fort Defiance has pivoted to being a corner store. Knowing St. John, he will find countless little ways to make it just as much a gem and community asset in its new role. Long live Fort Defiance.