Shelby Township Caribou Coffee to Continue Brewing

Caribou Coffee is closing a string of 168 stores across the country, but the Shelby Township location is reportedly going to continue serving customers.

A store employee stated Monday that the store will remain open, but referred all further questions by Patch to Caribou Coffee media relations. A representative responded with an email, but did not address the future of specific locations.

Other stores in Michigan, including the the Caribou Coffee at 1416 Walton Blvd. in Rochester, will close its doors at noon on April 14. 

The decision relates to a corporate acquisition of Caribou by Joh. A. Benckiser Group (JAB) in December 2012. The same company also acquired another large coffee company, Peet's Coffee and Tea Inc., which happened in October 2012.

Lake Minnetonka Patch reports a source with knowledge of the company’s downsizing plans and speaking on the condition of anonymity said 80 stores are being outright closed and 88 others are being converted into Peet’s Coffee locations. Caribou Coffee has 22 stores in Michigan.

While the ultimate fate of the Shelby Township Caribou Coffee is unknown at this time, it appears Caribou Coffee will be completely pulling out of Michigan.

Caribou Coffee president and CEO Mike Tattersfield said in a statement Monday that the chain will continue to operate Caribou Coffee in 468 locations across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, western Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, Colorado and ten international markets, but not Michigan.

It was not immediately made clear whether the location will be converted into a Peet's location, nor were specific dates given for a closing beyond the company issuing a 12-18-month timetable.

Statement on Facebook 

On Friday Caribou responded to an Iowa customer's Facebook query with this statement:

Hi Rikki, retail locations in Iowa will remain operating, as well as retail locations in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Western Wisconsin, North Carolina, Kansas and Denver. Closing stores outside of these areas was a tough decision. However, we’re excited to be able to renew our efforts in these markets. Please contact 888.CARIBOU with further questions - thank you for reaching out to us.

Caribous Closing in Ohio and Illinois

In Lakewood, OH, a Caribou store employee told Lakewood Patch Sunday that the staff was "just told" about the closing. "We're not very happy about it," said the employee, who asked not to be named. "We're all going to lose our jobs. We're going to be given the option to reapply for a job at Peet's, but we don't know much." He said the Lakewood location is one of the stores that will be converted into a Peet's, however, he added that no timeline has been given for the change. It's expected within in couple weeks.

German Firm Buys Caribou and Peet's

Caribou Coffee, headquartered in Brooklyn Center, MN, is the second-largest java chain in the United States behind Starbucks. In December 2012, German conglomerate Joh. A. Benckiser Group said it would be buying the publicly traded Minneapolis-based Caribou Coffee Co. for $340 million.

Earlier in 2012 it bought Peet’s Coffee & Tea for $1 billion. Peet’s Coffee was founded in Berkeley, CA, and is now headquartered in Emeryville, CA. The bulk of its stores are located in California. The company also maintains stores in Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington state.

In March, Caribou opted not to go ahead with plans to put shops inside J.C. Penney stores, according to Bloomberg.

CEO issues statement

Mike Tattersfield, president and CEO of Caribou Coffee, issued the following statement Monday:

"Over the past few months, we at Caribou have revisited our business strategy, including closely evaluating our performance by market to make decisions that best position us for long-term growth.  With that, we will be closing 80 underperforming stores on April 14th, and an additional 88 coffeehouses across Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Illinois and Eastern Wisconsin will be converted to Peet’s Coffee & Tea locations over the next 12 to 18 months. Going forward, Caribou Coffee will be made up of 468 locations across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Western Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, Denver, and ten international markets. While the decisions we’ve made have been difficult for our team in Minneapolis, as well as our team members across the country and our guests and fans everywhere, we are working to make this transition as seamless as possible for the Caribou community. We look forward to continuing to deliver extraordinary experiences to our guests and fans, and thank everyone for their passion and commitment to Caribou. For any questions, please contact 888.CARIBOU."

Chris Steller, Colin McEwen and Lori Switaj also contirbuted to this story. Check back with Rochester Patch for more information.