Caribou Coffee closing after 14 years in Gambrills Capital Gazette - Wed Mar 26, 2014. Kemo Hitaffer found his comfort zone at Caribou Coffee in Gambrills. His is a regular customer and he married the shop's first general manager. When that didn't work out he used the power of caffeine to brew up enough guts to ask his eventual second wife to marry him. But late last week staff at the coffee shop began breaking the news to customers that plans for a month-long renovation and transition to Peet's Coffee are dead. The popular shop in the Village at Waugh Chapel will close Sunday. The final cup at 3 p.m. will end 14 years for Caribou's only location in Anne Arundel County. Hitaffer, who visits Caribou each Sunday morning with his wife, father-in-law and two children, will miss the shop. "I will never forget my first kiss, my first sold out show and my first cup of great coffee at Caribou," said Hitaffer, a member of the west county-based band Wasabi. "The leather couches are slightly worn out, the bathroom doors mysteriously lock themselves, all the tables and chairs are wobbly and there's no more room (to post notices) on the cork board." European-based Joh. A. Benckiser Group bought Caribou for $340 million in December 2012, just months after it had purchased the Peet's brand for approximately $1 billion. The transition from the homey, woodsy atmosphere of Caribou to the polished feel of Peet's was scheduled to take six weeks. No major changes in personnel were planned, allowing most of Caribou's baristas to retain their jobs. Representatives from Peet's and Greenberg Gibbons, the property manager for the Village at Waugh Chapel, did not respond to requests for comment on the change. However, the Waugh Chapel location has some obvious drawbacks. Situated in the middle of the shopping center, there's no drive-through potential. And seating is limited. A photo of each barista adorns the coffee bar's mantle, hung not far from the fireplace. It's how many of the store's regular clientele learned employees' names. The Waugh Chapel location of Caribou managed to deliver to its patrons something that is not always easily attainable — a gathering place that was certainly a corporate chain, but that also possessed a hometown, mom-and-pop charm. Hitaffer waxed poetic when looking back at 14 years of a coffee shop he loved. "Watching interesting new faces always inspired me to write lyrics," he said. "I guess all great things must come to an end. My coffee will always taste a little bit like Caribou." By JAKE LINGER jlinger@capgaznews.com www.twitter.com/JLinger_CWCG KemotheSamurai.com #kemothesamurai Kemo@kemothesamurai.com

• published: 30 Mar 2014
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