Winnetka Caribou Will Become Peet's Coffee and Tea

The Caribou Coffee location in Winnetka will soon become a Peet's Coffee & Tea location, according to employees at the store. 

The 819 Elm St. location will remain open despite many other Caribou Coffee locations in Illinois closing. It will soon be known as Peet's Coffee and Tea.

According to employees at Caribou, all 80 locations in Illinois are closing, or transitioning under the Peet's name. 

This change to the Minnesota-based Caribou Coffee comes only a few months after German conglomerate Joh. A. Benckiser Group bought both Peet's Coffee and Tea and Caribou Coffee, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. The Joh. A. Benckiser Group purchased Caribou Coffee in December for $340 million. It purchased Peet's Coffee and Tea in 2012 for $1 billion, the article states.

Forbes reported on the purchase in December, noting that a merger might make the most sense. 

"A merger could make geographic sense, as Caribou is mostly in the Midwest and East, while Peet’s is strongest in the West," the article stated. "To German bean-counters, it may simply not make sense in the long run to maintain two headquarters staffs and facilities for such similar businesses. A spinoff might also happen after such a merger/rebranding."

There are around 600 Caribou Coffee locations nation-wide. 

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