Walking to work this morning after a long weekend, I was surprised to see that the Torrefazione Italia on Olive Way between 6th and 7th is closed.

If I’d been reading Foodservice Equipment Reports Fortnightly, I would have known that Starbucks, which purchased TI in 2003, was closing all 17 TI cafes because they “felt the brand would perform better as a co-brand in grocery stores and other foodservice operations” (”Starbucks Shifting Torrefazione Italia To Co-Brand ^[1]“). Heck, if I’d been paying attention I would have noticed that the PI ran an article about the impending closing of all four Seattle locations in June (”Starbucks to shutter Torrefazione cafes ^[2]“) and that one of our Chicago correspondants reported on the TI closings in his city in July (Fuzzy Gerdes, “Arrivederci ^[3]“).

I used to go to the Olive Way locations on a fairly regular basis. (I’ve even got a mostly stamped coffee card in my wallet — Damn! Only three punches away from a free cup.) I wasn’t a big fan of TI and their bland, “upscale” Italian decor, but for a chain they made a decent cup of coffee, especially compared to Starbucks. Scuttlebutt on the eGullet forum ^[4] is that some/all (?) of the Seattle TI’s are going to be reopened as Italian-style caffes by the son of the original owner of TI, Emanuele Bizarri. A sign on the former Olive Way TI promises the advent of a new “Caffe Senso Unico” in the near future.