Caffeine low: Tiny Warrior Coffee has lost its lease (updated)
October 14, 2015
UPDATED (2:15 p.m.): An Alite representative told me by email this afternoon that Tiny Warrior’s tenure in their store on 18th near Capp Street was never intended to be long term. Amanda Durbin, customer relations coordinator for Alite Designs Inc., said the spot the coffee shop now occupies is the store’s “incubation space for people to get their business ideas kick-started.
“We took care of all the permitting and build-out expenses to help local people have a super low cost way to get their businesses started,” she wrote. “The original intent was to have short-term leases for businesses to get their footing so that they could then graduate on to having their own spaces.”
Durbin said Alite is now seeking submissions from other local entrepreneurs who would like a space to run their business for a year.
“Now that Tiny Warrior’s one year lease has come to an end, we want to offer the opportunity to another local up-and-coming business. We plan on taking the next two to three months to talk to several rad local community-oriented folks,” she said. “You should generally expect the Alite Outpost to have a new pop-up every year.”
ORIGINAL POST: As it marks its first birthday, 18th Street’s Tiny Warrior Coffee has been dealt a potential death blow. This morning, the diminutive java shop announced via Facebook that it had lost its lease on space inside the Alite Outpost camping store.
I’ve reached out to the coffee shop and Alite to find out more. In the meantime, here’s what the Tiny Warrior folks had to say on their Facebook page:
October marks the one year anniversary of Tiny Warrior Coffee. We are so grateful to all of our loyal customers who have supported us and made us the #1 iced coffee in San francisco. Regrettably October will also be our last month at the Alite Outpost as we’ve lost our lease on the space. We are looking into our options for moving forward and will keep you posted. Hugz! #tinywarriorcoffee #loveandrespect
[Photo via Tiny Warrior’s Facebook page]