It’s a month of bad news, and now more: Inza Coffee is closing. The last day of operations will be this Friday, June 13th. They are also closing every day at 4 pm; earlier than normal. This news was passed along to me from Ron Cortez, owner of Cortez Coffee Company, the roaster for Inza. Ron tells me that Inza is “planning to have the last day this Friday.” He says that “Cortez is going to donate the coffee and all the employees will share the ‘tip jar’. The idea is to have a day to say goodbye to all there loyal customers.” I understand that most items will be discounted and so tip heavily and go this week to say goodbye to the coffee shop we all love. I’m sure we’ll see Linda, Wilson, Austin, Carlos, CJ, Brittne, Baltazar, Jessica, Johann — and anyone else I may have missed — again. They’re a great group of people and I wish them all the best. One of the things I’ve learned in life is that change is good. See you on Friday. Update: Inza Coffee responded to my email and wrote: “Thank you for your support! Thanks for everything! Thank you ARIZONA! Good Bye!” Update 2: Prices discounted on Friday by 50%. Inza Coffee 8658 East Shea Blvd Suite 1 & 2 Scottsdale, Arizona 85260 www.inzacoffee.com Phone: (480) 222-4870
hb Sad news for everyone, I been seeing this happen not only here but in other places too. I was in Mexico recently and I wanted to visit my favorite coffee shop and it was closed. I noticed that most of the shops were closing, I found out that starbucks open a few stores with cheaper prices and free WiFi. So I will stop by INZA tomorrow and say goodbye to everyone. 0 Reply June 11, 2008
Scott Walters What the heck? These guys were easily ten times as busy as the previous attempt at a coffee shop in that space (where you’d see maybe one or two people lingering) and well deservedly so. Open mic and art nights would pack people in, and it’s hard to draw a crowd like that in sterile North Scottsdale. They really seemed to have everything going for them — good coffee, good food, popularity, atmosphere… -scott 0 Reply June 11, 2008
Pierce/Bear What Scott inferred to as ‘positives’ would apply to Mama Java’s……the coffee/service may be so-so but, not only is the geographical area great (definitely NOT ‘Stepford Wives’ sterile)……MJ’s also has live entertainment. 0 Reply June 12, 2008
Jennifer Capella WHAT?? ARE YOU SERIOUS?? NO WAY! I am on my way to INZA this afternoon! I need to ask in person!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!! Please someone tell me this is NOT TRUE!!! VERY SAD!! VERY SAD!! 0 Reply June 12, 2008
Todd Man – this sucks. This is one of my favorite coffee shops in Phoenix AND it is the closest non-Starbucks shop to my office and home. Where am I going to go to get my wicked toddys now? The really sad thing is the portent it brings about the indy coffee shop industry as a whole. This place was pretty busy, had SUPER friendly people, and put out a darn good product, yet it is still closing. 0 Reply June 12, 2008
hb The comments people are leaving is that this shop was always busy, has great service and product. Then why it’s closing? 0 Reply June 12, 2008
Tempeite Perhaps it is not that they had a lack of business – there’s no indicator of that. I used to work up there and visited often, and yes, they seemed to *always* have business even during traditionally dead times. Maybe they’re just pursuing a different interest, moving back home, etc? 0 Reply June 12, 2008
Austin I think it is hard to have a coffee shop if you aren’t packed regularly. A steady stream of customers is nice, but that doesn’t mean that it is busy. YOu have to keep in mind that even if the margin was great on coffee there is a lot of other overhead in staffing and facilities. At $3 – $6 a customer it is really a nickel and dime industry. Outside of Refresh, whenever I was there it was pretty quiet. Also they closed pretty early. 0 Reply June 12, 2008
MikeInAZ Nooo!!! I love this place. What are some alternative places around this area? Where’s everyone going now? Thanks! 0 Reply June 12, 2008
James I went there today, and was told that while they had folks in the daytime, the evenings were dead. And apparently it just wasn’t enough to cover the costs. Rent is just too high. A real issue, too, was lack of any roadside sign to tell folks driving by there was even a coffee shop in that plaza. It’s just tough to keep a local coffee house going if you’re stuck at the back of a strip mall. 0 Reply June 13, 2008
MikeInAZ James, I was thinking about that last night. Their location, was a huge problem. It was tucked away in the back. Even if you knew about it, it would be a hassle to get back there. Also, if they had a location closer to the road, they could offer drive-thru. The Starbucks on 94th is busy inside and quite busy outside too. Then again, I’ve noticed business down everywhere, so maybe it wouldn’t have worked out. People will cut out coffee, car maintenance, and eating out before they cut on gas. 0 Reply June 13, 2008
Chris Tingom I stopped in this morning and last morning for a drink and pastry. If it weren’t for the lack of artwork and the empty fridge to the side you’d never know it. The staff isn’t talking about it either. If you have the time, stop in today and say goodbye. It’s a great shop and they will be missed. James – you’re right about the signage. Everyone had to be told about that shop. Otherwise you’d never see it. 0 Reply June 13, 2008
Carol Antonni I am from Italy, and this folks have the best coffee in town! And the best combination of great employees and atmosphere! I am going to miss them so bad. (Please open another one soon!) 0 Reply June 13, 2008
Todd Well, I just came from Inza. I am much saddened to see them go. The barista spoke about declining profits over the last few months and operating a coffee shop in Arizona in summer is no easy task. Stop by and say good bye if you get a chance. 0 Reply June 13, 2008
Ron Cortez Most of you are correct. They were busy and I am sure that they were making money (except in the summer) under Arizona coffee house standard. The main reason for there closure was a personal and family crisis causing that no managing team was present for a significant amount of time in the last 6 months. This produced a very high percentage of waste in all levels. This particular location was before a coffee house and I know it was performing a lot better than previous tenant. It would have thrived if the owners were more involved in making business decisions. The business was up for sale and had a potential buyer that backed away at the last minute. I am mentioning all this because I have Inza’s owners authorization and in defense of the coffee house industry. This industry is amazing; it allows us to express ourselves, to be creative and to influence the lives of many people in our community (employees, customers, etc). Inza had something that starbucks doesn’t, they were unique and colorful; the food, the décor, there accent, they made every drink look good, they were consistent, they have lots of activities. I know that the formula can be duplicated and I hope someone does it again. Soon. 0 Reply June 13, 2008
Chris Tingom Thanks for posting this information Ron. I hope everything works out for the family. 0 Reply June 13, 2008
Leslie Terrill Ron, thankyou for this post, my heart goes out to the owners, I wish the best for them and their family. And thankyou for the positive note at the end, you are right in saying that the coffee business is amazing, I have met some very nice people who have been extremely supportive. So to all you coffee shop owners and lovers of indie coffee shops, keep supporting one another! respectfully, Leslie 0 Reply June 13, 2008
Ben Atkin They’re open until 9:30PM tonight. They decided to have a Brazilian music night. 0 Reply June 13, 2008
Scott Walters Yeah, here, trying to see them off properly. I eavesdropped on the discussion a bit and they used to be a lot more busy. I moved to downtown Phoenix so I haven’t been around recently to see how things had been going. They said a lot of their regulars, who were in every day, stopped showing up. The large latte is still under $4 and the small under $3. An outdoor store, a bike shop, a Blockbusters and probably other businesses have vanished from this complex, so I’d have hoped the strip mall management would be making the effort to retain the remaining customers rather than jacking up their rent and forcing them to pick up the slack. I know times are tough… They’re at about 1/4 capacity now. In the past, music or art would pack the place. Maybe they’re right… business just isn’t up to snuff. F’n economy… -scott 0 Reply June 13, 2008
Carol Antonni Gush! I even stopped by today… “Oh you Dummy! They are closed!” I said to myself. It is going to be so hard to break that habit… Thank you INZA family for everything! Your landlord or management lost the BEST store they had. In fact… to add on Scott’s comment… the management closed the doors on another business in the strip mall… it was a tanning salon… 0 Reply June 16, 2008
Brittne Inza’s been my second home and my second family for the past year and a half that I’ve worked there, and I’m gonna miss it terribly… unfortunately, a $6000/month rent above and beyond salaries and costs means a whole lot of coffee to sell, and we were barely breaking $400 a day in sales at the end. I’ll miss my customers and my co-workers and all the things that made Inza such an awesome coffee house. Thank you guys for everything! Now time to find a new job… but it seems this economy isn’t helping the job market too much as far as the local indie places go! 0 Reply June 18, 2008
Pierce/Bear $6,000 a month for rent?!? I am amazed that Inza held on as long as it did——heck; $4,000 a month would have shocked me. 🙁 0 Reply June 21, 2008
