The Morning Call

Nowhere Coffee shutting down Emmaus location that hosted Biden after roof leak

- By Tanya Basu

Nowhere Coffee has closed its coffee shop located at 318 Main St. in Emmaus, amid what owners say is a dispute with their landlord following a roof leak.

Nowhere Coffee’s remaining location, at 3127 W. Tilghman St. in South Whitehall Township, will remain open.

The Emmaus store’s shuttering takes place after owners Lauren and Juan Vargas temporaril­y shut down the store in February due to water damage from a leak. The Vargases allege that landlord Chad Balliet, who owns South Mountain Cycle next door and was recently elected Emmaus Council president, failed to communicat­e with the couple about remediatio­n efforts for a safe reopening.

Balliet did not immediatel­y respond to a request for comment Friday.

The Vargases said they came to the decision to close late Thursday.

“It is with sad and heavy hearts that we deliver this message,” the couple posted on their Instagram on Friday morning. “We are asking that the landlord let us walk away from the property and he releases us from our personal guarantee.”

It’s a spectacula­r turn of events since President Joe Biden visited the cafe in January, as part of a tour of small businesses to tout his economic policies.

Just a month later, on Feb. 16, however, the building had a leak “[that dripped] through a hole in the rubber roof, over the cement ceiling, and then down over the cafe area over the customer area and operations area,” the Vargases wrote to Gary Ritter, Emmaus health inspector, in an email that was posted on Nowhere’s Instagram March 8. The couple decided to temporaril­y shut down while they filed insurance claims and sought

Balliet’s help in reopening the store, according to Juan Vargas.

The Vargases said they requested an outside health inspector because they felt there was a conflict of interest using Ritter, because of Balliet’s role on council; the request, they said, was denied, and they said Ritter inspected the property without their permission.

Things seemed to take a turn for the better on March 7, when Nowhere shared mold test results on their Instagram that suggested that the shop was safe to re-open. But on Wednesday, the Vargases published a video from their in-store security system and questioned repairs that had been made, which they said were overseen by Balliet.

The Vargases said they want to leave on as amicable terms as possible. “It’s honestly better for each party to go their separate ways, since the situation isn’t benefittin­g any one,” Juan Vargas said.

The couple have completed 19 months of a five-year lease, and had originally hoped to have done at least 10 years in the location.

The closure of the store is a huge setback to Nowhere Coffee’s plans in the area, which the couple said included between two to three shops and a roastery that is tentativel­y scheduled to open later this year in downtown Allentown.

“Our goal was always to reopen [the Emmaus location],” Juan Vargas said. “I don’t file insurance claims willy-nilly, but we had to. I can’t contemplat­e replacing $20,000 worth of equipment.”

The couple are hoping to recoup their losses by focusing on their remaining South Whitehall shop and completing paperwork for their upcoming roastery. They’ll also be mourning their Emmaus shop. “This hurts us emotionall­y and it hurts our bottom line,” Juan Vargas said. “No sugarcoati­ng it.”

 ?? APRIL GAMIZ/THE MORNING CALL ?? President Joe Biden visits on Jan. 12 with patrons and staff at Nowhere Coffee Co. in Emmaus. Owners Lauren and Juan Vargas announced Friday they would be shutting down the store.
APRIL GAMIZ/THE MORNING CALL President Joe Biden visits on Jan. 12 with patrons and staff at Nowhere Coffee Co. in Emmaus. Owners Lauren and Juan Vargas announced Friday they would be shutting down the store.

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