Camden Coffee Company formerly located at Humboldt and 44th Ave. N. was sold
to a sole proprietor last year. Prior to the sale the business had been
quite profitable, in touch with the community and very popular. The new
owner, having refused multiple offers of help from the former owners and
having no experience in the industry, assumed an expertise she apparently
did not possess and literally changed everything over night, much to the
horror of her customers. She appeared to have the view was that every penny
in the cash drawer was hers and if you are in business, that is a fatal
mistake. Customer service completely evaporated, the prices took a dramatic
jump, the quality of products went down and the customers went away. When
customers would make a comment about the changes, her reply was reportedly,
"If you don't like the way I do things you don't have to come back." Guess
what? THEY DIDN'T. Many times the shop was closed with no apparent reason
during posted "open" hours. The new owner then stopped paying her rent,
stopped paying her vendors, and the shop remained empty of customers. A
demand for rent was sent and the next week the doors were locked on December
29, 2000. Since then many vendors, the rent and utilities have not been
paid. Nothing has
been able to re-open in the location due to legal issues and the eviction.
To further complicate the issues, the new owner started operating under the
name of Jitters Cafe which was already registered to another company and was
a definite name infringement. Eventually you may see another business in
the location but as the property owner, we can not say what type of business
this would be until a lease is signed. It's for sure that the case study on
this business shows how someone without any business skills and a poor sense
of the customer can drive a business into closure in less than four months.
By the way, Camden Coffee Company's price for a simple cup of coffee with
refills was under $1 and senior citizens (which there are many in the area)
received a lower price.
>>On a related note, do any list members know the status of the
>>recently closed coffee shop on the corner of Humboldt and 44th Ave
>>N, Camden Coffee House I believe it's called? There's another at
>>Penn and 44th Ave N (former Baskin Robbins)that looks as if it may
>>be closing its doors as well. I agree that $3.00-plus coffee isn't a
>>big draw in lower income urban neighborhoods. It's a shame but it's
>>a reality.
Chris Pluchinsky
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