Philz Coffee

Philz Coffee is an American coffee company and coffeehouse chain based in San Francisco, California, considered a major player in third wave coffee.[1] Philz Coffee focuses on making drip coffee. Philz Coffee has 60 locations spread throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, greater Los Angeles, San Diego, Washington, D.C., Sacramento, Maryland, Arlington, Virginia, and most recently in Chicago. Philz has also opened its first Mobile store in San Francisco.[2] Philz was founded by Phil Jaber, located in San Francisco area. In addition to its extensive line of coffee and drinks they also have a line of merchandise and bagged coffee blends for purchase online.[3]

Philz Coffee
IndustryCoffee Shop
Founded2003
FounderPhil Jaber
Headquarters
San Francisco
Number of locations
60
Area served
United States
Key people
Phil Jaber, Founder,
Jacob Jaber, CEO
ProductsCoffee, Tea, Mint Mojito, Hot Chocolate, Pastries
Websitewww.philzcoffee.com

History

Phil Jaber founded Philz Coffee in 2003. Phil operated a corner grocery in San Francisco's Mission District for over 25 years and had strong ties to the community.[4] In 2005, Phil's son, Jacob Jaber, took over operation and became the company's CEO, taking the lead on expansion and building the company's internal structure.[5]

Philz Coffee secured a round of funding in 2013 by Summit Partners[6] and a few private investors to expand into new markets, leading to the first Philz Coffee outside the Bay Area in Santa Monica California.[7] They also secured a Series B in February 2015 in order to help them expand worldwide.[8]

Criticism during coronavirus pandemic

Worker safety

Philz has been criticized for its decisions during the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic.[9][10][11][12] In May of 2020, at least one complaint was filed with Cal/OSHA by a Philz employee "saying that Philz is not enforcing rules requiring employees to wear masks and stay apart from one another," according to the San Francisco Chronicle. According to Eve Batey of Eater, the company is also "reportedly pressuring a worker with underlying health conditions that make her vulnerable to coronavirus infection to return to work."[10] According to local media, the company has experienced "weeks of turmoil" during the pandemic, "with more than 100 employees organizing to protest Philz' handling of worker safety [...] and skewering its reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement."[12]

According to media in San Francisco, Philz workers have posted fliers around the city describing what they considered to be the untenable conditions and policies at Philz.[12][11]

Layoffs

In July of 2020, Philz sent an unsigned email with the subject "Difficult News" to 181 employees (23% of the company's 800 employees at the time[12][13]), informing them that they had been laid off and are now responsible for the total costs of their health insurance plans.[14] As reported in local media, the firings were preceded by a "backlash against Philz and its CEO, Jacob Jaber"[12] resulting from company policies relating to worker safety and social justice.[15][16]

See also

References
  1. "Peet's rides coffee's 'third wave' with stake in Intelligentsia". Reuters. October 30, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  2. Wong, Grace (June 12, 2019). "Pink Salt bringing northeastern Thai cuisine at new Fulton Galley food hall, plus more restaurant news". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  3. "Online Coffee Store - Darker, Medium, Lighter Blends | Philz Coffee". www.philzcoffee.com. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  4. Mac, Ryan (April 19, 2016). "Philz Coffee: Silicon Valley's Cup Of Choice". Forbes. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  5. "Phil'z grows fast with 'slow' coffee". San Francisco Business Times. April 22, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  6. "Philz Coffee Raises Eight-Figure Round From Summit, Angels, As Specialty Coffee Market Heats Up". TechCrunch. May 1, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  7. "Philz opens new location in Santa Monica". San Francisco Business Times. March 10, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  8. "Silicon Valley Favorite Philz Coffee Gulps Up $15 Million To Expand Nationwide". TechCrunch. February 18, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  9. "Philz to lay off 180 as coronavirus continues to inflict economic pain on Bay Area". SFChronicle.com. July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  10. "As California opens up, companies want workers back. Some are afraid to return". SFChronicle.com. June 28, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  11. Batey, Eve (June 29, 2020). "Boba Guys Faces New Allegations of Sexual Harassment, Racism". Eater SF. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  12. "Philz Coffee to Lay Off 180 Employees Due to COVID-19". KQED. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  13. www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2020/07/14/philz-coffee-to-lay-off-workers-this-week.html. Retrieved August 3, 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. "Philz Coffee Has Massive Layoffs Due to COVID-19". Broke-Ass Stuart's Website. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  15. Batey, Eve (July 13, 2020). "Philz Coffee Lays Off 181 Workers After Weeks of Employee Protests". Eater SF. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  16. "Former workers allege Philz Coffee laid off those with COVID-19 fears". Mission Local. July 15, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
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