Darwin’s coffee shop owners are shutting down all four locations, with the first closing Nov. 22
A barista pauses while fulfilling an order Wednesday at the Darwins Ltd. location at 313 Massachusetts Ave., The Port. (Photo: Marc Levy)
Baristas at Darwin’s Ltd. said Wednesday that all four locations in the local coffee shop chain are being shut down permanently before Christmas.
A statement from founders and owners Steven and Isabel Darwin confirmed that the chain is shutting down.
“We thank the thousands of employees, customers and the City of Cambridge for allowing and supporting the 30-year experience and success of our family-owned business. Upon further reflection we have decided to retire from this line of work,” the Darwins said.
The closing of the original location in Harvard Square, which opened in 1993, was announced last month, with the Darwins urging support for “Darwin’s ownership and its staff” at the remaining locations.
Sam White, a barista at Darwin’s Ltd. on Cambridge Street, speaks Oct. 30 at a union rally at Cambridge City Hall. (Photo: Marc Levy)
But the staff of roughly 50 was gathered Tuesday, less than two weeks from the announcement of a closing at 148 Mount Auburn St., Harvard Square, and told that every Darwin’s would soon be closed, baristas said. That includes at 1629 Cambridge St., Mid-Cambridge; 313 Massachusetts Ave., The Port; and 31 Putnam Ave., Riverside.
Messages were left Tuesday with Sam White, a barista at the Cambridge Street location and a leader of the union that formed among workers starting Sept. 15, 2021. White did not respond immediately.
White said at an Oct. 30 rally at City Hall against the coming layoffs that the Darwins’ 30-year lease in Harvard Square ran until the end of December, but Steve Darwin planned to leave a month early to make way for the next tenant – a bakery, but not one that was hiring Darwins Ltd. workers. (Update on Nov. 29, 2022: Despite the description as a bakery, a sign has been posted in the Darwin’s window in Harvard Square for a business called “Roust Coffee.”)
Customers at the Darwins Ltd. location in The Port on Wednesday. (Photo: Marc Levy)
The Darwins said they were “awaiting a response from the union for a pending closure date” at three locations but had “received an official closing date from the union” of Nov. 22 for the site in Harvard Square.
Last month, workers at Darwin’s called the closing in Harvard Square an attempt by the owners to union bust. One of the baristas speaking Wednesday expressed belief again that the owner was tired of dealing with the union but also had no plans to sell the business. What would happen to the four locations’ equipment was unclear, the barista said. Steve Darwin, asked for further information about the closings, said Wednesday that he could not add anything “at this time.”
The union would try to bargain for two weeks severance or more, a barista said. Members had been seeking pay of $24 an hour, three weeks of paid time off and zero-deductible health care.
Alex Bowers contributed to this report.
Sounds like the union overplayed their hand with an owner who didn’t need that in his life when he was thisclose to retirement.
Sounds like a sad day on all sides
At least Question 1 passed today and raises taxes on incomes above $1 million
I’ve been going to Darwin’s for over 7 years at all locations since I moved here from Chicago. Now I have to find somewhere else to buy a coffee and use the bathroom. I’m a gardener – public bathrooms are hard to come by. Guess I have a few more days to pretend this doesn’t bother me
Sorry to hear that they are shutting down.
Sounds like the right move from the owner. Other smaller union shops are bound to follow soon, no matter what public face the owner puts on.
No one wants to deal with the delicate flowers for unions. They had a time and place. Their time has come and gone.
What’s “the millionaire’s tax” have to do with this? As savvy business owners they are certain to keep most of the income off personal streams.
The main people that mis-guided bill will snare is legal and self-pay health care providers.
They will simply pack up and move elsewhere.
Also, Cambridge has installed several public restrooms including Central and the park near Hah-vuhd square.
In the “old days” a 30+ year 4 location local co would sell to the next entrepreneur. Nowadays just close it and walk away – wow.
These small locally owned businesses were a big part of the dna of Cambridge. Even with Starbucks closing all 3 of their h sq locations plus now the 1 in central Darwin’s still closed.
Sad on all levels.
prc, I agree this is very sad. But a spot like Darwin’s does not really have anything to sell to the next entrepreneur–the value is tied up in the location and the current owner’s daily management. I’m looking forward to the new bakery
No actually Google restaurants for sale Cambridge mass. Lots of em. Yes in the old days a chain like this would sell and yes would be nice for another to move in.
With the climate in Cambridge towards small businesses Good Luck with that my goodness.
Another bakery snapped right up the hi rise on mass Ave um no good luck!
Popular neighborhood bakery cafe and sandwich shop just minutes from Harvard Square. Same owner for over 30 years.. Very functional floor plan with an open kitchen and seating for 19. Historic sales of $1.7 Million. Approximately 2,000 sq. ft. with a fully built-out basement. Turnkey condition. Seller planning to retire.. Established reputation and customer base.
SIZE: Approximately 2,000 sq. ft.
SEATS: Licensed for 19 guests
HOURS: Currently open 8:100 AM – 4:00 PM
LICENSE: Common Victuallers & Beer & Wine Retail
SALES: 2019: $1,655,000
PRICE: $310,000
Detailed Information
Location:Cambridge, MA
This likely is not a union problem, nor a tax problem. It simply might not be a profitable business once the long term leases expire. Rents have gone up a lot in 30 years. I don’t know when the other three leases expire, but that might be soon too. As far a selling, the business might not generate enough revenue to cover the higher rent. Coffee shops tend to have a lot of customers camped out for hours, and those customers don’t buy that much stuff.
I saw this at O2, just east of Harvard Square. I would go there for lunch, and there was no place to sit because lots of people were taking up all of the tables working on their laptops. So I’d go somewhere else. The building was sold, the rent was raised, and the yoga studio plus the cafe was no longer viable. This also happened with my favorite cafe in Ithaca, ABC Cafe. An investor bought the building and raised the rent. The owner knew that he couldn’t make enough to cover the rent, so he sold the business. The new owners closed six months later because they couldn’t turn a profit with the higher rent.
Hi prc–thanks for the example, but I would not describe $300K for a business doing $1.7MM in sales as “selling the business”. At that price they are getting little more than the value of kitchen equipment, beer license, etc. It’s really a liquidation of assets