News Summary
Phoenix Coffee, a beloved café in Downtown Cleveland, will close its last location at 1700 E. 9th St. on September 19, 2024, after 17 years of service. The decision comes as ongoing financial challenges, heightened by the pandemic and rising coffee prices, forced management to close the shop. Despite the closure, Phoenix Coffee plans to open a new location in Downtown Cleveland in the future, aiming to maintain its legacy in the community. Loyal customers reflect on the café’s role in the area as they prepare for its final days.
Downtown Cleveland will see the closure of Phoenix Coffee’s last location at 1700 E. 9th St. on September 19, 2024, after 17 years of service. The café has been a staple in the downtown area since its opening in late 2007, holding the longest-standing lease among all Phoenix Coffee locations. The decision to shut the doors comes as a response to several challenges facing the business, particularly the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and significant financial struggles.
Staff members were made aware of the potential for closure on July 15, 2024, as the management explored three different options for the café: staying at the current location, relocating to another site within Downtown Cleveland, or exiting the downtown area altogether. After careful consideration, the leadership decided to close the shop.
Financial difficulties played an essential role in the closure, with the company observing a steep decline in business in 2024 compared to the previous year. The café has reported that 2024 has been “a lot worse” than 2023, with other contributing factors including a lack of nearby tenants and reduced foot traffic in the area. The viability of the coffee shop heavily depended on having a fully leased commercial building above it—a situation that has not materialized recently.
Additionally, the rise in coffee prices due to tariffs on imports, particularly from Brazil, has compounded these issues. As of September 15, 2024, there is currently a 50% tariff on coffee imports from Brazil, which has significantly inflated costs for Phoenix Coffee. The price of a standard bag of house blend coffee has jumped from $14 at the start of the year to $21 by July 2024. Management cited that operating the café at a loss, particularly with $40,000 in tax burdens, is not a sustainable option moving forward.
This closure follows another recent decision by Phoenix Coffee to shut down its Warehouse District location in spring 2024, with hopes that by focusing on the East Ninth location, the business could regain stability. However, the expected influx of customers did not materialize as planned.
Despite the closure of its Downtown location, Phoenix Coffee will continue to operate four other sites across the greater Cleveland area, including its roastery and headquarters in Ohio City, as well as locations in Lakewood and two in Cleveland Heights. The Downtown café employs four individuals, all of whom have been offered positions at other locations, with some of the staff already being transferred back to their other outlets in July.
In a glimmer of optimism, management has indicated that they are hopeful about returning to Downtown Cleveland with a new location “soon.” There are plans in place for the café to open another outlet, suggesting that while the Downtown site will close, it will not mark an extended absence from the area.
The building that has housed the Downtown Phoenix Coffee shop is part of the AM Trust Financial Building complex located at 800 E. Superior Ave., which was put up for sale in May 2024. This has added another layer of uncertainty regarding the future of retail and food establishments in the downtown area.
As Phoenix Coffee prepares to close, many loyal customers reflect on the years of service and community engagement the café provided. The business’s legacy in Downtown Cleveland continues even as its doors prepare to close for the final time next month.
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Additional Resources
- Crain’s Cleveland: Phoenix Coffee to Close Downtown Location
- Wikipedia: Coffee
- Spectrum News: Cleveland Coffee Shop Braces for Tariffs
- Google Search: Coffee Tariffs
- Cleveland.com: Cleveland’s Newest Coffee Shop
- Google Scholar: Coffee Industry
- Cleveland Magazine: Lekko Coffee Opening
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Coffee Business
- Cleveland Scene: Root of the Matter
- Google News: Cleveland Coffee Shops
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CLEVELAND STAFF WRITER The CLEVELAND STAFF WRITER represents the seasoned team at HERECleveland.com, your premier source for actionable local news and information in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and beyond, delivering "news you can use" with in-depth coverage of product reviews for personal and business needs, local business directories, politics, real estate trends, neighborhood insights, and state news impacting the region—backed by years of expert reporting and robust community input, including local press releases and business updates, while providing top reporting on high-profile events like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions, Cleveland International Film Festival, and holiday parades, alongside key organizations such as the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Orchestra, and Great Lakes Science Center, plus leading businesses in manufacturing and healthcare like Sherwin-Williams and University Hospitals, and as part of the broader HERE network including HEREDayton.com, offering comprehensive, credible insights into Ohio's vibrant landscape. HERE Cleveland HERE Dayton
