Peace Coffee permanently closes its shops, nonprofit coffee company to take over Longfellow location

Rebecca Omastiak
[Peace Coffee, Twitter]

After 10 years in business, Peace Coffee is closing its Minneapolis shops permanently.

In an announcement issued Thursday, the Minneapolis-based coffee company stated it made the decision to close its shops in part due to challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have learned so much over the past ten years, and we know that opening the shops made us a better company," the announcement reads, in part. "Our learning went into warp speed in March when we moved to close our shops for the safety of our staff while trying to figure out how to stay safe and successful through the roastery. The challenges imposed over the last nine months caused us to think through many scenarios for the shops and weigh the impacts of each one. After going through this process, we have made the difficult decision to not reopen the coffee shops. We are immensely grateful to our staff, incredible partners, and customers that made our coffee shop experiences meaningful and something we’ll keep close as we look ahead."

The company announced Wildflyer Coffee, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit specialty coffee company, will move into the now-closed location along Minnehaha Avenue.

Wildflyer Coffee, which bills itself as an organization "providing job stability to youth experiencing homelessness," plans to open in the Longfellow spot in December as Peace Coffee transitions to focusing solely on its wholesale roasted coffee bean business.

During the transition, Peace Coffee will offer training and support for Wildflyer Coffee as it opens its first coffee shop.

"We spent years weaving Peace Coffee into people’s lives at this location, so we are proud to give Wildflyer a built-in community in which to grow and prosper," Peace Coffee CEO Lee Wallace said in a statement. "Wildflyer moves into a space the community already loves and it is an organization that is also in it for good so it’s a perfect match for both companies."