Philz, the Bay Area-born coffee chain that marked two decades in business this year, will close its original location on 24th Street.
In an emailed statement Wednesday, the company said the decision came down to a finished lease.
"We have loved serving the Mission District community over the past 20 years," the company said. "After a long and fulfilling journey, our lease ended and we have made the difficult decision not to renew."
The company added that "[t]hough the physical space may close its doors, the Mission will always hold a special place in our hearts as our first home, where Philz was born and nurtured."
All eligible Philz employees will be offered positions from among the chain's dozen San Francisco locations, the company said, including the closest ones in the city's Potrero, Dogpatch, Castro and Noe Valley neighborhoods.
Wednesday's overcast afternoon in the Mission served as a fitting backdrop for patrons first hearing the bleak news that they'd need to find another place to buy coffee.
"I've been going here since I started buying coffee at places like Peet's and would come here when I would take my daughter to St. James," said Jose Vega while sitting inside the 24th Street shop. "I'm going to miss it. It is definitely going to change my route for when I want coffee."
Jose Vega at Philz Coffee in the Mission. | Source: Joel Umanzor/The Standard
The chain traces its roots to a convenience store run by Phil Jaber, opened the first eponymously named Philz on New Year's Day 2003. It quickly grew into a retail phenomenon, expanding across the Bay Area, into several Southern California counties and half a dozen locations in Chicago, according to the company's website.
The company ended a six-year stint in Washington, D.C., at the start of this year due to "changing market conditions," per Eater DC.
Philz Coffee marked its 20-year anniversary with playlists on Pandora and Spotify, as well as a "much love" T-shirt paying tribute to the original and now soon-to-close location.
