San Francisco’s Philz Coffee exits DC market
The last Philz Coffee in the D.C. metro area — and what was the first Philz to open here — will close next month.
The Philz location at 1827 Adams Mills Road in Adams Morgan will shutter Feb. 12. It opened in 2016, marking the beginning of the chain’s East Coast expansion to many D.C.-area neighborhoods, including Bethesda, Ballston, Dupont Circle and Navy Yard.
“As we look to the future, we have made the difficult decision to exit the DC Metro Market,” the company posted on social media. “We loved serving this community, but business conditions and our desire to provide the best possible experience to our customers led to our decision.”
It did not elaborate on what business conditions led to its decision to close.
Employees of the Adams Morgan location have started a GoFundMe for staff. Employees are getting what the fundraising page calls “a small severance package.”
Phil Jaber opened the first Philz Coffee in San Francisco’s Mission District in 2003. Its model differs from some other coffee chains, with customers choosing from more than 20 customized blends of beans, ranging from dark and bold, to medium and light. The beans are ground fresh, and each cup of coffee is brewed individually.
Philz serves iced coffee as well. However, no cappuccinos, espressos or pre-brews are on the menu.
Philz still operates almost 60 coffee shops in San Francisco, elsewhere in California and Chicago.