Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea is set to close their Liberty Street location on June 23rd. After ten years in the space, franchisee that managed the businesses accidentally missed the deadline to renew their lease.
Lisa Bee is the CEO and co-founder of Sweetwaters. She says by the time they caught the mistake, their landlord had already leased the space to a new tenant.
“Unfortunately, they had already leased out the space. I think it was unfortunate that there was no communication from the landlord.”
Bee says the franchisees are already looking to reopen at another location in Ann Arbor. She says her team is working with the franchisees to find a new location.
“It was not due for any kind of financial reason. It was really a clerical error. So, [the franchise owner] is absolutely looking for another location, and she would like that to be in Ann Arbor.”
Bee says the franchise is looking to continue expanding out of Michigan as well. The franchise recently opened two locations in North Dakota.
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