Emeryville, California-based Peet's Coffee & Tea has decided not to enter the metro Atlanta market. Last year, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota-based Caribou Coffee announced plans to close 80 locations nationally, and convert another 88 locations to sister chain, Peet's Coffee & Tea. The coffee chains were purchased in separate transactions by German private equity group Joh. A. Benckiser in 2012.
Today, the Caribou Coffee locations slated for closure have closed, both in Atlanta and around the country, but while other markets will reportedly see their Caribou locations convert to Peet's, Atlanta will not. According to multiple area Caribou locations, the decision was made "about a month ago" to not convert Atlanta area Caribou Coffee locations to Peet's Coffee & Tea shops.
(I have noticed Peet's for sale in Atlanta, but at Target in both K-Cup and ground coffee varieties.)
Sources say that Peet's may still enter the Atlanta market with its own shops, just not in the immediate future.
I spoke to a barista at Caribou Coffee's Silver Spring, Maryland location who indicated their store is scheduled to convert to Peet's in late March.
Today Caribou Coffee has six Atlanta area locations :
3261 Peachtree Road (Buckhead)
4520 Roswell Road (Sandy Springs)
3487 Northside Parkway (West Buckhead)
1000 Piedmont Avenue (Midtown)
303 Peachtree Street (Downtown)
231 Peachtree Street (Downtown)
Caribou Coffee also has two locations in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Concourses A and E.
Coffee is rather competitive in Atlanta and for Caribou to maintain a presence here with only six locations seems illogical. Unless they announce a plan to open more locations in the coming months / years (which I doubt), I think they will soon leave the market altogether.
7 comments:
The Buckhead location on Peachtree appears to do good business on a consistent basis.
I wish there was a better Starbucks in Buckhead that is easier to get in and out of, especially after the changes to the access to the one on Piedmont.
Big Caribou fan. Prefer the coffee to Starbucks, and the staffs seem friendlier. I really hope they don't pull the plug on the remaining stores; the Buckhead locations all seem very steady. (For that matter, so did the Powers Ferry store they closed, which is still empty.)
(In fairness to the Independent Republic of Sandy Springs, I think the Roswell Road store is in Sandy Springs, not North Buckhead, by a few yards.)
@Theron,
You are spot on with your north Buckhead / Sandy Springs comment. I have made the change.
Thanks for your readership and comments.
I'm no architect, however I think the 10th and Piedmont location would do gangbusters as a 2 story Starbucks modern glass structure(serving wine & beer). Party central corner.
I've seen Peet's in my local Kroger, so I expect it's readily available at other locations.
Caribou's business is doing so well in the Atlanta market they Peet's decided not to make the switch.
Yeah - Peet's has some of the best coffee in this country and I'm surprised that the roll-out of stores in Greater ATL has been given up. I learned about this coffee from a former colleague of mine who worked on CC's Far Coast concept at the time and he was 100% spot on. Great stores on the West Coast was all to finally convince me thta Peet's is by many degrees better than the just-bitter Starbucks brews.
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