Caribou Coffee Closes, Peet's Begins Renovation

It’s now official: Caribou Coffee is closing its doors in Royal Oak.

Earlier this month the 401 S. Main location covered its windows with brown paper and now a sign on the doors at the 31901 Woodward Ave. location instructs customers the store is closing Sunday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. Patrons can return to the location “in a few short weeks,” according to the sign, when the space will reopen as Peet’s Coffee and Tea. 

In December of 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 the year 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.

Several other Caribou locations in Michigan simply closed the doors.