Business & Tech
Peet's Coffee & Tea Gets Ready To Grind at Woodward Location Only
Planned store at the former Caribou location at 401 S. Main St. in Royal Oak is scrapped.
Peet's Coffee & Tea officially opens its Woodward Avenue location on Nov. 11 but has pulled the plug on a downtown location.
"We are committed to continuing our largest retail expansion in Peet’s Coffee & Tea’s 47-year history with seven stores opening in the Detroit Metro area at the end of November, all of which are former Caribou store locations," said Denyelle Bruno, Vice President, Retail Marketing and Operations at Peet's Coffee & Tea in an email. "However, we will not be opening a Peet’s Coffee & Tea store in the former Caribou location at 401 South Main as a final leasing agreement could not be reached. We will be relocating employees hired for the South Main store to other Peet’s Coffee & Tea store locations in the area."
The Caribou Coffee at 31901 Woodward Ave. closed its doors Oct. 6 to make way for Peet's. In early September, the Caribou location at 401 S. Main St. covered its windows in brown paper.
Since opening its first store in Berkeley, CA in 1966, Peet’s has maintained its commitment to artisan-crafted coffee. For the past 10 years, Peet’s has grown its presence in grocery stores across the country through its Direct Store Delivery service, a unique distribution method that allows Peet's to maintain its freshness standards, according to Bruno.
The daily grind at Peet's
Royal Oakers can expect the Woodward store location to be a warm, welcoming store environment, with comfortable places to work, study, meet with friends and family and enjoy hand-crafted Peet’s beverages and pastries, according to Bruno. Peet’s also offers free WiFi usage in its stores and customers can enjoy unlimited time and no access code requirements.
And the coffee?
"Coffee roasting is an art to us. We roast by the senses, never by machine," Bruno said. "Our artisan roasters rely on smell, sound and sight to ensure that each batch delivers against the distinctive taste for which we are so well known."
Only Peet’s roasters know how to roast Peet’s coffees. Peet’s has only had three roast masters in its five-decade history with the longest standing roaster having been with the company for 24 years.
"We are delighted to be entering the Michigan market with retail cafes so that we can bring our quality, hand-roasted coffee to more fans - and new ones," Bruno said.
In Michigan, Peet’s will employ more than 100 employees in its stores, which is approximately 15-20 employees per store. Many employees are former Caribou employees.
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