ORIGINAL STORY, 1:17 PM: Thanks to everybody who has tipped us on this. We’ve been checking into the mysterious closure of Tully’s Coffee on Alki Beach since this “temporarily closed” sign went up yesterday afternoon:
Though the sign says they “look forward” to reopening, some who have contacted us are skeptical that will happen, given the recent travails of what’s left of the chain, and someone even put a memorial by the door with “RIP” and flowers, spotted when we went back today to check if it was still closed:
According to the city business-license database, the shop is owned by Global Baristas, as are other remaining Tully’s shops, bought by the group in 2013 after Tully’s itself filed for bankruptcy. Online court records show the state is seeking back taxes from Global Baristas, with a court filing dated this past Monday citing more than $180,000. And records list multiple “unlawful detainer” – potential eviction – filings since mid-October, most recently for a location in Bellevue. Three shops closed last fall, including one on Capitol Hill, where our friends at capitolhillseattle.com investigated extensively. But we haven’t yet found documents mentioning anything specific about this location (2676 Alki SW). We have a message out to the “media contact” listed on the Tully’s website. We’re also trying to find the Alki property’s owners; property records carry both the name of an accountant in Federal Way and the name of the former owner of the Taco Time that was on the site before it became a Tully’s shop in 2000. We’ll update if and when we find out more.
8:25 PM: We never did hear back from the company. But The Seattle Times inquired and reports tonight that a company memo says the stores closed because they were out of coffee. (Thanks to commenter David for spotting that.)
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