The Associated Press reports that “Tully’s Coffee, which once aspired to challenge Starbucks in the global coffee market, is temporarily closing stores citing a lack of coffee as it undergoes what a spokeswoman called a rebranding.
However, the story makes clear that very little seems to be clear about either the lack of coffee availability or the exact nature of the rebranding.
Some context from the AP:
“Seattle-based Tully’s has had a string of legal and financial troubles, and it closed some stores late last year after being sued for back rent. The company quickly expanded in the late 1990s and 2000s before the stock market’s crash in 2007 scuttled plans for an initial public offering.” In 2013, the company was bought out of bankruptcy by Michael J. Avenatti.
More context:
“Actor Patrick Dempsey reached a deal to serve as the public face of Tully’s when Avenatti bought it out of bankruptcy, but he quickly backed out and sued his former partner in 2013. Dempsey alleged that Avenatti had not fully financed the coffee chain as promised and instead had borrowed $2 million against Tully’s assets, at an exorbitant 15 percent interest, without telling him.”
However, the story makes clear that very little seems to be clear about either the lack of coffee availability or the exact nature of the rebranding.
Some context from the AP:
“Seattle-based Tully’s has had a string of legal and financial troubles, and it closed some stores late last year after being sued for back rent. The company quickly expanded in the late 1990s and 2000s before the stock market’s crash in 2007 scuttled plans for an initial public offering.” In 2013, the company was bought out of bankruptcy by Michael J. Avenatti.
More context:
“Actor Patrick Dempsey reached a deal to serve as the public face of Tully’s when Avenatti bought it out of bankruptcy, but he quickly backed out and sued his former partner in 2013. Dempsey alleged that Avenatti had not fully financed the coffee chain as promised and instead had borrowed $2 million against Tully’s assets, at an exorbitant 15 percent interest, without telling him.”
- KC's View:
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And now, some subtext … if the name Michael J. Avenatti seems vaguely familiar to you, it is because he’s been in the news a lot lately. He’s the new attorney of record for Stormy Daniels, the porn actress, who got paid $130,000 by somebody (Donald Trump? Donald Trump’s personal attorney?) to keep quiet about an affair she claims to have had with the future president in 2006.
Small world, huh?
