Philz Espresso closes San Francisco headquarters, strikes to Oakland

As the San Francisco Examiner first reported, Philz Coffee has closed its headquarters in San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood and moved to Oakland.

Both the headquarters and the café of the popular coffeehouse chain at 1258 Minnesota Street had to close as a result.

“With nearly our entire corporate team working entirely from home, the existing lease no longer met our needs as a company,” said Mahesh Sadarangani, CEO of Philz Coffee, in a statement provided to SFGATE. “As a result, we have decided to close the Dogpatch location and relocate our corporate headquarters to our roastery in Oakland, California.”

Qualified retail employees were offered jobs at other nearby Philz stores, Sadarangani's statement said. In October, Philz closed its original San Francisco cafe at the corner of 24th and Folsom after 20 years.

According to Mission Local, the company initially told employees that the 24th Street closure was because the company did not want to renew its lease. However, the building is owned by an LLC run by Philz co-founder Jacob Jaber, Mission Local reported. Employees told Mission Local they suspected other reasons for the closure, from high maintenance costs to the main store's reputation as a “rebellious store,” with employees having previously attempted to unionize, according to Mission Local.

The company still has about a dozen cafes across the city, from Embarcadero to Noe Valley to Ocean Avenue.

“We are thrilled to welcome Philz to its permanent home here in the city,” Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said on X after news of the coffee chain's move broke. “It's not just about coffee; it's about community, and we're honored that a huge local favorite has chosen Oakland as its home.”