What's happening with Tully's?

Shoreline Tully's inside Haggen Fresh grocery store

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR), owner of the Tully's brand, issued a statement on January 4, 2013, that business would continue as usual in spite of the ownership change. Tully's was in bankruptcy, was put up at auction and Tully's executives chose an investment group headed by actor Patrick Dempsey, who plays a Seattle doctor on the television show Gray's Anatomy.

However, according to our news partner, The Seattle Times, Starbucks and a group from the Philippines are contesting the sale. The foreign group is a franchisee of Tully's, but Starbucks is a competing brand. See the Times story.

Tully's operates several popular coffee shops in the area. Two are inside Haggen Fresh stores (formerly Top Foods) in Edmonds on SR 99 and in Shoreline across from City Hall. A third location in Kenmore is a stand-alone store with indoor seating.