Seattle's Best Coffee

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Seattle's Best Coffee is a specialty coffee retailer and wholesaler based in Seattle, Washington, USA. Seattle's Best is a subsidiary of Starbucks Coffee. Its international division is owned by FOCUS Brands, Inc.

Founded by Jim Stewart in 1968 as the "Wet Whisker", an ice cream and coffee shop in Coupeville, Washington, Seattle's Best Coffee was known as Stewart Brothers Coffee from 1969 to 1991, when it took its present name.

Seattle's Best Coffee was joined with Torrefazione Italia Coffee to form Seattle Coffee Holdings (SCH). SCH built a single roasterie for both brands in 1995 on Vashon Island, Washington. In 1998 AFC Enterprises purchased Seattle Coffee Holdings and changed its name to Seattle Coffee Company (SCC). During AFC Enterprises ownership SCC's Roasterie received many upgrades and created Seattle's Best Coffee's organic coffee line.

AFC Enterprises (owners of Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, Church's Chicken, and Cinnabon) fell on hard times in an accounting scandal in 2002. Its accounting firm, Arthur Andersen, had been hiding losses and an investigation resulted in the de-listing of AFC Enterprises stock. AFC Enterprises was forced to sell the SCC portion of its business to Starbucks in 2003. Starbucks subsequently closed the Vashon Island facility and moved production to their Kent, Washington roasterie.

Seattle's Best Coffee has retail stores and grocery sub-stores in 20 states and provinces, the District of Columbia, It has recently been learned that the 5 stores in British Columbia have been acquired by Blenz Coffee, a competitor to Starbucks in British Columbia.

The Borders bookstore chain signed a contract with Seattle's Best Coffee in 2004 to convert Borders' in-store cafes to Seattle's Best cafes. As of 2006, approximately two-thirds of Borders' domestic superstores have completed the Seattle's Best conversion. Seattle's Best parent company Starbucks Corporation has contracted with Borders' competitor Barnes & Noble to operate cafes in B&N superstores under the Starbucks brand. Starbucks also owns and operates locations within Chapters and Indigo Books and Music Bookstores in Canada.

Steak n Shake replaced their in-house line of coffee with Seattle's Best Coffee in February 2008. This came as the store upgraded its breakfast menu.

[edit] External links

• Seattle's Best Coffee Official website