Four Barrel Coffee suspended business this weekend following sexual harassment allegations by eight women against the coffee company’s owner, Jeremy Tooker, that were revealed Friday.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Valencia store sat locked and dormant with a note taped to its door: “We are closed today, taking care of each other,” the note reads. “You’ll hear from us soon.”
The Valencia Street store is one of three locations in San Francisco. The two other stores appear to be closed as well. Calls to the Portola location, as well as the Mill on Divisadero Street, went unanswered. It’s unclear how long they will remain shuttered.
The lawsuit, first reported by the Chronicle, alleges that Tooker assaulted a female employee in a hotel room and forcibly kissed and touched others without consent.
The lawsuit also alleges that the company’s management dismissed employees’ concerns about Tooker’s behavior. One woman was fired after bringing up Tooker’s behavior with a manager.
On Saturday, Tooker agreed to leave the company and divest from it, a note on the company’s website said. The note was signed by Jodi Geren and Tal Mor, the company’s current leaders.
“ … we take issue with the claims being asserted in the lawsuit, and the mischaracterization of our current culture,” they say in the statement.
The lawsuit claims Geren and Mor told employees who raised concerns about Tooker not to “raise drama,” the Chronicle reported.
A Four Barrel employee told Mission Local on Friday that she was contemplating finding a new job following the news. Some customers we spoke to said they would consider not coming back.
Nice that they are “taking care of each other”. They should’ve had that “kubayah” vibe years ago instead of sexually assaulting women. Morons.
agreed. I would not want any of those HR or management clowns “taking care” of me or my family.