A drawdown in Bay Area coffee locations appears to be continuing as Peet’s Coffee announced plans to close more than two dozen locations by the end of January.
Although two San Francisco locations were able to confirm they were slated for closure others may not yet know – waiting for word from their corporate offices.
The development marks another major downsizing for Peet’s, which ended 2024 with 255 locations nationwide, down from nearly 400 stores at the end of 2019.
A Peet’s spokesperson said: “… These closures reflect a broader effort to align our business with long-term growth priorities and current market conditions,” while thanking employees and customers for past support.
Announcement of the closures comes on the heels of Keurig Dr Pepper’s $18 billion plan to acquire JDE Peets in an all-cash transaction first announced in August. The deal, expected to close in the second quarter, includes plans to split the coffee and other beverage businesses into two publicly traded companies.
Peet’s was founded in Berkeley, Calif., in 1966 by Alfred Peet.
This corporate ownership model really seems to be working out.
The Peet’s on 4th Street in Berkeley will always be my favorite. Despite the poshness of the rest of the street, this coffee shop still offers the homey “sit and stay awhile” vibe. People gather there for conversations rather than park it for hours-long solitary wi-fi use. Usually you can still find a young person out front with a clipboard collecting signatures for something, inquiring, “got a minute for the environment?”. Bonus, the coffee still tastes like coffee.
I hope the best locations in our area make the cut.
Memories of steaming coffee at Vine and Walnut on a student’s budget. What a find!
Patronize your local mom and pop coffeehouse.