Compass Coffee Cafe Opens Amid Brewing Legal Battle: Reports

CLARENDON, VA — Despite a legal battle brewing between the founders of Compass Coffee, the Washington, D.C.-based coffee cafe chain opened a location in Clarendon over the weekend.

The new cafe is located at the former home of Peet’s Coffee at 3003 Washington Blvd. It joins four other Compass Coffee locations in Arlington: 4100 Wilson Blvd. in Ballston; 4300 Wilson Blvd. in Ballston Quarter; 4710 Langston Blvd. in Glebewood; and 1201 Wilson Blvd. in Rosslyn.

The Clarendon Compass is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.

On Jan. 13, Compass Coffee co-founder Harrison Suarez filed a lawsuit against fellow co-founder Michael Haft, a former White House staffer, according to The Washington Post. The two men met while they were serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. They opened their first Compass Coffee cafe in 2014.

In the lawsuit, Suarez said he was terminated by Haft in an email in mid-2021, according to the Post. Suarez seeks millions of dollars in compensation, accusing Haft, Compass Coffee, and the Haft family of “running a racketeering enterprise,” while failing to pay him the fair market value of the company based on the operating agreement he had signed, the Post reported.

Suarez also accused Compass, Haft and Haft’s family of defrauding the federal government of more than $10 million in pandemic loan and grant funding since 2020, according to the Post.

Haft told the Washingtonian in January that Suarez’s accusations were untrue and released the following statement, which the magazine published:

“As the pandemic disrupted our lives a few years ago, Harrison began experiencing more severe behavioral health challenges. Unfortunately, this led to a series of accusations and threats directed at me and my family — the same family who welcomed him into our home, supported him financially, and treated him as one of our own. His accusations have only intensified over time, and while Harrison has not been involved with the business for several years, I have done my best to navigate these challenges in private. I have made many offers to settle these matters amicably, and I will continue to pursue a meaningful path of settlement in the hopes of finding resolution.”