Popular Allegro Coffee Roasters in Denver closes

Allegro Coffee Roasters at 4040 Tennyson St. in Denver shuttered its doors permanently last week in spite of its popularity, leaving patrons with the sole option of driving to its Thornton location.

Leadership at Whole Foods Market, which owns Allegro, pointed to operational changes “to better position Allegro to drive forward its mission of providing the very best responsibly sourced coffee in the industry,” said spokesperson Alyssa Patterson. The Denver outpost, which served as a cafe and roasting facility, first opened in late 2015.

“Whole Foods Market and Allegro remain committed to providing our customers with the very best responsibly sourced coffee in the industry,” Patterson said. “These changes impact a very small number of team members, and we are dedicated to helping those who are qualified find new roles with Allegro or Whole Foods Market.”

Allegro Coffee Co., which is at 12799 Claude Court in Thornton, was founded in Boulder in 1977, “with the simple goal to bring you the best coffees in the world,” according to its Linkedin page.

The Denver store closure is just one of several business decisions that Allegro has made over the years. Founder Jeffrey Cohn “directed the sale of the retail division in 1985 and renamed the wholesale division Allegro Coffee Company” before merging with Whole Foods Market in 1997, Whole Foods Market said.

Allegro since has expanded from just coffee to other products, including tea, spices and drinking chocolate. However, spice production also will be discontinued, Patterson said.

Whole Foods Market lists dozens of Allegro coffee options.

“Through all this growth and change, our initial goal has remained the same: from coffee beans to tea leaves, herbs, botanicals, spice, and chocolate—we passionately and continually source the best ingredients the world has to offer,” Allegro’s Linkedin page details.

Last June, Allegro also put its Facebook page with almost 58,000 followers to rest, pointing patrons in the direction of Whole Foods Market to purchase their products.

“We’re so grateful for the support and community we’ve built here,” the company wrote. “Thank you for being part of it.”

Patrons nationwide largely responded with saddened comments. “So sorry to hear about all the changes there at Allegro,” wrote a commenter from Minnesota. “Great coffee!”

Another added that she’s “so so so sad about this.”

Allegro’s Instagram page with 16,000 followers also met its end that same month.