Royal Coffee Buys Big Warehouse and Industrial Complex in Oakland

Stacks of Royal Coffee in a warehouse. Photo courtesy of Royal Coffee.

California-based coffee trading company Royal Coffee has purchased a new warehouse, distribution and manufacturing complex totaling 103,500 square feet in Oakland.

[Disclosure: Royal Coffee is a current advertiser in Daily Coffee News.]

The Mercury News reported that the green coffee company, acting through an affiliate, purchased the complex for $31.7 million, based on recent records from the Alameda County Clerk’s Office. Additional terms of the property purchase have not been publicly disclosed. 

A Royal Coffee spokesperson told DCN that the company plans to relocate its existing green coffee from its current warehouse location into the new center this Spring. The new complex is at 5901 San Leandro Street in East Oakland.

“Royal Coffee has long been one of a tiny handful of green coffee importers to operate its own warehouse, and the only one on the U.S. West Coast,” Royal Coffee CEO Max Nicholas-Fulmer said in a press release shared with DCN. “It is standard practice to outsource this to third party logistics providers. Now, actually owning the facility we operate out of will ensure the excellent service and unparalleled selection our clients have come to expect and cement Royal Coffee’s position as the premier specialty coffee importer in the world for the foreseeable future.”

A Royal Coffee spokesperson told DCN that the company does not have any additional plans for infrastructure changes in the U.S. market. The company maintains green coffee warehouse locations in domestic markets including Seattle, Madison (Wisconsin) and Houston, as well as international warehouses in Shanghai, Vancouver and Yokohama (Japan).

“No other changes to our US infrastructure,” the Royal spokesperson said. “We are continuing to focus on investing in areas that enhance our customers’ experience, like additional customer service support and improving the shopping experience on our website.”

Founded by Bob Fulmer and Pete McLaughlin in 1978, Royal Coffee remains independently owned.

Royal Coffee’s The Crown. Daily Coffee News photo by Lily Kubota.

The company maintains a focus on the specialty coffee market. It owns and operates a coffee education, roasting and tasting facility in Oakland called The Crown, which opened in 2019. In 2016, the company introduced 22-pound boxes of green coffee, designed for small-scale roasters, called Crown Jewels. In late 2022, the company launched 50-pound boxes of coffees called Crown Gems.

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