Caribou Coffee Closing Darien Location; 5 Total in DuPage County This Weekend

Employees who work at Caribou Coffee shops around DuPage County have no idea what the future holds, as many will be out of a job by this time next week. 

Only select locations around DuPage County will remain open, including one location in each Naperville, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn and Downers Grove. The remaining stores, including Darien's at 2445 75th St., will shutter their doors at noon Sunday, April 14.

An employee at the Naperville location at 95th Street and Route 59 said about 12 employees will be out of work when the store closes.

“None of us know anything. None of us know our [job] futures,” said the employee, who did not want to give her name. 

One location in Naperville, the store at 686 E. Ogden Ave., will remain open.

In a statement issued Monday Caribou CEO Mike Tattersfield said:

Over the past few months, we at Caribou have revisited our business strategy, including closely evaluating our performance by market to make decisions that best position us for long-term growth.  With that, we will be closing 80 underperforming stores on April 14th, and an additional 88 coffeehouses across Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Illinois and Eastern Wisconsin will be converted to Peet’s Coffee & Tea locations over the next 12 to 18 months. Going forward, Caribou Coffee will be made up of 468 locations across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Western Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, Denver, and ten international markets. While the decisions we’ve made have been difficult for our team in Minneapolis, as well as our team members across the country and our guests and fans everywhere, we are working to make this transition as seamless as possible for the Caribou community. We look forward to continuing to deliver extraordinary experiences to our guests and fans, and thank everyone for their passion and commitment to Caribou. For any questions, please contact 888.CARIBOU.

On Twitter, Caribou said while some of its stores are closing, more than 400 will remain open.

In a tweet to a customer, Caribou said: “After careful consideration we decided to refocus our efforts on the greater MN area.”

According to the manager of Naperville's 1523 N. Aurora Road location, the stores that remain open will "slowly refocus" on becoming Peet's Coffee & Tea Company, a San Fransisco-based company which has nearly 200 locations nationwide.

The stores remaining open in DuPage County include:

• Naperville: 686 E. Ogden Ave.
• Wheaton: 390 W. Front St.
• Glen Ellyn: 495 W. Roosevelt Road
• Downers Grove: 5100 Main St.

Three stores in Naperville, another location in Wheaton, and a store in Darien will close Sunday.

Caribou is based in Minneapolis, Minn. And has more than 500 company-owned locations in 16 states, employing more than 6,000. In 2009, the company had $262 million in revenues.

The decision relates to a corporate acquisition of Caribou by Joh. A. Benckiser Group (JAB) in December. The same company had also acquired another large coffee company, Peet's Coffee and Tea Inc., in October. 

There are 66 stores in Illinois, but exactly which will close was uncertain. 

A Boycott Caribou page has been created on Facebook. So far, it has 82 likes. 

"Don't forget to show your local Caribou and their employees your support this last week. I know it will very tough for them after all the great relationships they have built over the years with their customers," a status update on the page said. 

Stores that are closing include:

• Darien: 2445 75th St.
• Wheaton: 280 Danada Square West
• Naperville – Design Pointe: 1316 N. Route 59
• Naperville – Riverbrook Shopping Center: 1523 N. Aurora Road
• Naperville: 2879 95th St.

What do you think about the company closing its locations? Tell us in comments!