My Favourite Coffee Shop is Closing

Earlier this month, this story appeared in the Vancouver Sun:

Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, September 08, 2006

Seattle's Best Coffee Co.'s Canadian licensee is closing its five company-owned retail cafes in Vancouver because it had too few locations to operate efficiently and no mandate from Starbucks, the brand's parent company, to expand.

Jay Garnett, president of the licensee firm, the Whitefish Group, said the company gave its approximately 30 full- and part- time employees at the Seattle's Best locations notice on Wednesday that the cafes will close Sept. 29, and offered them full severance.

However, Garnett added that Whitefish Group has opened up several jobs on the rapidly expanding wholesale side of the Seattle's Best business, so "most people who want a job and to continue with [the company] will have a job."

Employees had until today to state whether they were interested in those positions.

Garnett said the reason Whitefish is closing the cafes goes back to Starbucks' 2003 purchase of Seattle's Best.

He added that, at the time, Seattle's Best wanted the Whitefish Group to expand on both the retail and wholesale sides of the business.

"When Starbucks purchased the [Seattle's Best] brand, that was not the strategy they wanted to see for Seattle's Best [in Canada]," Garnett said.

"They wanted to grow the wholesale side of the business, so we're continuing to grow the wholesale side."

Garnett said the result was that it became difficult to operate the retail side, with all the requirements of being Seattle's Best, at just five locations. He added that the small profile did not give the Canadian employees enough opportunities for growth or offer online catering or other customer service incentives.

"Chains need to be somewhere around 25 to 30 locations to have economies of scale," Garnett said.

However, Garnett said the Seattle's Best's wholesale business has been growing at double-digit rates year over year. Whitefish has been Seattle's Best's master distributor in Canada for 13 years and has 1,000 customers nationwide including IGA, Save On Foods, Costco, Intrawest, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and Mac's Convenience Stores Inc.


My favourite location was the one at the corner of 11th & Granville. It opened in the fall of 2000, while I happened to be staying with my mom at the time, who lived just a block away. I went there most everyday with my laptop, to think, to work, and to just get out and see people. I also interviewed several dozen people for my old company there.

I knew most of the managers at this SBC too. First there was Jen. She eventually moved on and is now selling pharmaceuticals. Then there was Michelle. I think she's still with the organization, albeit at a higher level. I then moved to Montreal for awhile so lost touch with the establishment. But when I got back to Vancouver I discovered it was being run by a stunning blonde beauty, whose name I was always too timid to find out!

I don't like the way my South Granville neighbourhood has changed over the past few years. It is becoming another personality-less clone of Robson Street. In just two days, the disappearance of SBC will be yet another nail in the coffin of what used to be a fun shopping area. :-(