Four Barrel renames itself amid backlash
Businesses are distancing themselves from Four Barrel, the embattled San Francisco coffee roaster at the center of a Chronicle investigation in which eight women accused the company’s founder, Jeremy Tooker, of sexual misconduct.
Tooker has left the company, and in the wake of the backlash, Four Barrel’s remaining two owners, Jodi Geren and Tal Moore, said Monday that they are changing the name of the company to the Tide. They also plan to make the company’s employees its new owners.
Wendy Lieu of Socola Chocolatier and Barista in San Francisco began serving Four Barrel coffee roughly four years ago. She decided over
the weekend to end her business partnership with the company, and said that a new name will not bring her back.
“It’s not about what they’re going to do. This whole thing is about what they didn’t do. How they failed the employees. I mean, time’s up,” Lieu said. “The name change and everything — that’s not what their focus should be on right now. Their focus should be on making sure employees feel safe to come forward.”
Red Rock Coffee in Mountain View, which sold Four Barrel, announced via Twitter that it would no longer buy coffee from the company, adding that it hopes Four Barrel finds a way to “change for the better.” Le Marais Bakery, which has cafes in the Marina and the Castro, also said on Twitter that it would stop carrying Four Barrel products. Similar posts were made by Spiller Coffee in Atlanta, Strange Matter in Michigan and Fresh Pot in Portland, Ore.
A lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court on Friday against Four Barrel and Tooker alleged that Tooker sexually assaulted multiple women and harassed others over several years. The names of eight women appeared in the suit — two of them as plaintiffs — and all of them provided testimony detailing a toxic work environment rampant with sexual misconduct. Tooker has not responded to inquiries.
On Saturday, Four Barrel announced that Tooker had agreed to leave the company. The company’s remaining owners said Tooker will divest and will no longer be affiliated with it in any capacity. On Monday, they said that Tooker’s shares — 50 percent of the company — will be given to employees, and they plan to eventually have the company be 100 percent employeeowned.
On social media, members of the specialty coffee community have called for boycotts of the Four Barrel brand. The company’s Mission location was closed on Saturday and Sunday but reopened on Monday; its Portola location was also closed Saturday but open Monday. The Mill, Four Barrel’s partnership with Josey Baker Bread on Divisadero, was closed Saturday but reopened Sunday.
Josey Baker, owner of the eponymous bread company, said in a statement that he was “deeply pained” to hear about the victims’ experiences at Four Barrel.
Molly Flynn, a coordinator with CoffeeToo, an organization seeking to combat harassment in the coffee industry, said, “People are angry. We’ve been talking more about sexual harassment existing in the coffee industry and how it’s prevalent, just like in the food and wine industry.”
Flynn said her group is assisting former Four Barrel employees with job placements at other coffee businesses in the Bay Area. Algorithm Coffee Co. and Souvenir Coffee Co. in Berkeley have posted job openings directly mentioning the Four Barrel lawsuit and its fallout.
Still, some Bay Area businesses are struggling over whether to sever ties with the company.
For almost a decade, Canyon Market in Glen Park has sold Four Barrel products, including espresso made from Four Barrel beans and the beans themselves. Co-owner Janet Tarlov said she’s trying to decide what to do about about the partnership.
“It’s really upsetting. It truly is,” Tarlov said. “We opened around the same time, both us and Four Barrel, and we’ve worked with them the entire time. I’m just not sure how we handle this going forward.”
Tarlov said a customer emailed her suggesting that Canyon Market end its relationship with Four Barrel.
Tarlov said she understands the customer’s stance, but ending the venture with the company is more complicated than it seems. She says employees at the coffee company would be affected by other retailers abandoning the brand in droves.
“There are a lot of people that aren’t Jeremy, that are partners, people who work for the business, who are going to be affected by all of this,” she said. “As business owners, we understand that, so it’s something to take into account.”
Tarlov said she had a personal relationship over the years not only with Tooker but also with the entire Four Barrel management team, which makes her decision more complicated than it would be for other businesses. Four Barrel trained the baristas at Canyon Market, she said, and Canyon has purchased coffee-related equipment from Four Barrel.
Others in the community, like Socola’s Lieu, are waiting to see results.
“Four Barrel is taking a step in the right direction, but you cannot make everything right with one move and a name change,” Lieu said. “Time will tell if they follow through and drive real change both inside their company and out.”