It appears the Peet’s-ification of the D.C. region’s Caribou Coffee locations is about to begin.
Peet’s acquired Caribou Coffee late last year, and the company said it would shutter about 80 Caribou locations nationwide and turn the remainder into Peet’s Coffee & Tea sites.
The first conversion looks to be the Caribou at 1701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW; a D.C. permit still in the pipeline applies to alter the interior to make way for Peet’s.
And an employee at the store told me that the Peet’s conversion is expected to happen next year.
Some of the Caribou closures were in the D.C. region: the Crystal City location has closed, along with a handful of others. In April, Caribou listed nearly two dozen locations in the region; today there are just 15 listed on Caribou’s website.
A spokeswoman for Peet’s declined to provide specifics on when individual stores would be converted.
“We are excited to be bringing our quality, hand-roasted coffee to Peet’s fans and new customers in the Washington D.C. area in spring 2014,” said Lyda Velez, who represents Peet’s. “Although we are still finalizing our store roll-out plans, we will be sharing more details in the coming months.”
