After 22 years of operation, the location shuts its doors
By PIPER AWEEKA — city@theaggie.org
At 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26, the interior of the Downtown Davis Peet’s Coffee was bustling. With 30 minutes until closing, every table was still claimed. Students bent their heads over laptops while several community members read newspapers and sipped from brown paper cups. Next to the cash register, a tip jar proclaimed 22 years of service to the downtown community.
Nearby stood a small sign announcing Jan. 30, 2026 as the location’s last day of operation. The closure of the downtown location is one of many Peet’s franchises set to shut its doors in January.
Katie Borgeson, a fourth-year sociology and linguistics double major and self-proclaimed “avid Peet’s enjoyer,” highlighted the location’s significance for Downtown Davis.
“I feel like there’s not really a community the way that there is at Peet’s,” Borgeson said. “As much as I feel like Mishka’s and other coffee shops in this town try to force a vibe of community and conversation in a space that’s made for studying, it came very naturally at Peet’s.”
Borgeson also emphasized the friendly attitude Peet’s had toward the city’s unhoused population.
“I also really like that they were very welcoming with the homeless community in Davis,” Borgeson said. “They definitely knew that it was a space that they could occupy, they could get water and warmth [and] charge devices, which I never saw anywhere else.”
The announcement of the downtown Peet’s closure sparked a Change.org petition among Davis community members and students alike. Working toward 1,000 signatures, the petition has acquired 658 at the time of publication.
Jillian McKie, the petition organizer, included the sentiments of the community within the petition.
“The significance of Peet’s extends beyond its coffee offerings,” the petition reads. “We urge [management] to recognize the invaluable role this outlet plays in fostering connections and supporting the social fabric of our city.”
Sarah Perez, a recent nursing school graduate, shared her shock at the quick closure of the location.
“This is one of the only places that’s open super early that I would go to before I went to the hospital for clinicals,” Perez said. “Sometimes it would get busy, which is why I was surprised it was closing. I feel like it’s never been empty.”
Location staff, including an anonymous employee, emphasized the abrupt nature of the notice given.
“They gave us just around three weeks of time,” the employee said. “We found out pretty late, it was sudden and they didn’t give us much information.”
The notice of closure for the Downtown Davis location is just one of many across Peet’s locations in California. Stephanie O’Brien, a spokesperson for Peet’s, explained the upcoming changes for the company.
“These closures reflect a broader effort to align our business with long-term growth priorities and current market conditions,” O’Brien said in an official statement to CBS.
The Downtown Davis Peet’s employee shared their perspective on the loss of the community atmosphere that Borgeson described.
“I feel like everyone that spends time in Downtown Davis, to some extent, […has] some connection to this store, or at least someone else who comes here,” the employee said. “I feel like we were very involved with the community. We have community planners who come here regularly, and it seems like everyone’s sad. It’s not just us working here. At the same time, it’s kind of exciting. At least I’m trying to stay positive even though the job market [isn’t] great right now.”
Written by: Piper Aweeka — city@theaggie.org
