Coffee Culture closes; employees notified by text
Coffee Culture pulled the rug out from under its employees last week — shutting down its St. Paul Street operation Wednesday morning indefinitely with barely any notice.
Most employees were told of the sudden closure through a text message sent by franchise owner Tyler Miedema at about 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 25. Some weren’t told at all and found out second-hand that they no longer had jobs.
The text read: “Important message from Coffee Culture regarding your employment,
“Dear fellow employees at Coffee Culture: At midnight tonight (July 25, 2017) I am ceasing operations at Coffee Culture, St. Catherines (sic) for reasons beyond my control. An unfortunate byproduct of this is that your employment with Coffee Culture will be terminated at the same time.
“I am diligently working to resolve these issues but unfortunately this takes time. We are working with Coffee Culture head office to continue operations; however, we are unable to provide you with more clarity regarding monies owed to you.
“I sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and method of notification. I appreciate all the hard work and loyalty that you have shown and wish I could personally thank you for your dedication and understanding. Regards, Tyler Miedema.” Employees don’t know what the reason for the closure is.
George Karamountzos, with Coffee Culture’s head office, said he wasn’t even aware of the decision by the franchise owner to close the location until Thursday.
He said the official reason the franchise owner decided to close the location is still unclear, although he did add the lease was close to expiring and that Miedema is also currently deployed with the Canadian Forces.
He said Coffee Culture is working on getting proper compensation to terminated employees.
Efforts to speak to Miedema were unsuccessful.
Employees said the main feeling they have is shock, adding the business was still thriving.
“We had summer promotions bringing people in,” said Dana Watson, who was assistant manager.
“The customers were as shocked as we were.”
Employees who received the text during work hours were told to “keep it business as usual until close,” said Katie Pearson, another employee who was let go last Tuesday.
“It’s really nice right before we go back to the school year as well, a lot of us being students,” said Sean Aileen McClelland, another employee who lost her job as a result of the closure.
The group said what they want most is an explanation, not to mention their paycheques and compensation. Friday would have been their pay day.
“You don’t just shut down from one day to the next with no explanation,” said Rodrigo Lugo, another employee.
Members of the staff said they’d like to see something nice open in the location, as well as all of the student art which decorated the walls of the shop is returned to its owners.