Could Troy's 2 Caribou Coffees Close? - Updated

Caribou Coffees is closing a string of 160 stores across the country and it's unclear whether the two shops in Troy will be on that list.

Right now the company has confirmed the West Bloomfield location on Orchard Lake Road will shutter by Monday. And employees at the Grosse Pointe Woods Caribou Coffee began telling customers Saturday and Sunday the store will close its doors later this month, according to Grosse Pointe Patch. Caribou Coffee has 22 stores in Michigan.

The decision relates to a corporate acquisition of Caribou by Joh. A. Benckiser Group (JAB) in December 2012. The same company also acquired another large coffee company, Peet's Coffee and Tea Inc., which happened in October 2012.

Lake Minnetonka Patch reports a source with knowledge of the company’s downsizing plans and speaking on the condition of anonymity said 80 stores are being outright closed and 80 others are being converted into Peet’s Coffee locations.

While the immediate fate of the stores at 3495 Rochester Rd. and 3113 Crooks Rd. are unknown at this time, it appears Caribou Coffee will be completely pulling out of Michigan.

Caribou Coffee president and CEO Mike Tattersfield said in a statement Monday that the chain will continue to operate Caribou Coffee in 468 locations across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, western Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, Colorado and ten international markets, but not Michigan.

The Troy store managers contacted by phone on Monday declined to comment or were not available to speak.

Statement on Facebook 

On Friday Caribou responded to an Iowa customer's Facebook query with this statement:

Hi Rikki, retail locations in Iowa will remain operating, as well as retail locations in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Western Wisconsin, North Carolina, Kansas and Denver. Closing stores outside of these areas was a tough decision. However, we’re excited to be able to renew our efforts in these markets. Please contact 888.CARIBOU with further questions - thank you for reaching out to us.

Caribous closing in Ohio and Illinois

 In Lakewood, OH a Caribou store employee told Lakewood Patch Sunday that the staff was "just told" about the closing. "We're not very happy about it," said the employee, who asked not to be named. "We're all going to lose our jobs. We're going to be given the option to reapply for a job at Peet's, but we don't know much." He said the Lakewood location is one of the stores that will be converted into a Peet's, however, he added that no timeline has been given for the change. It's expected within in couple weeks.

German firm buys Caribou and Peet's

Caribou Coffee, headquartered in Brooklyn Center, MN, is the second-largest java chain in the United States behind Starbucks. In December 2012, German conglomerate Joh. A. Benckiser Group said it would be buying the publicly traded Minneapolis-based Caribou Coffee Co. for $340 million.

Earlier in 2012 it bought Peet’s Coffee & Tea for $1 billion. Peet’s Coffee was founded in Berkeley, CA, and is now headquartered in Emeryville, CA. The bulk of its stores are located in California. The company also maintains stores in Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington state.

In March, Caribou opted not to go ahead with plans to put shops inside J.C. Penney stores, according to Bloomberg.

Updated at 5:05 p.m. on Monday with corporate statement.

Chris Steller, Colin McEwen and Lori Switaj also contributed to this story.