Popular San Francisco Coffee Company Closes Both Cafes After Landlord Disputes

Three-year-old San Francisco specialty coffee company Outset Coffee has closed both of its cafes after separate landlord disputes, one ending in a $200,196 court judgment and the other in a court-ordered eviction.

The company, known for Asian-inspired specialty coffee drinks that often incorporated real fruit, faced lawsuits involving its original Mission District cafe at 790 Valencia St. and a second location at 90 New Montgomery St. in the city’s Financial District.

On Oct. 7, San Francisco Superior Court entered a default judgment of $200,196 against Outset Coffee SF 2205 LLC and its parent company, Fuji Inc., in a lawsuit filed by Valencia Street landlord MW790VALE LP. The judgment includes $166,194 in damages, $21,222 in interest, $10,752 in attorney fees and $2,027 in court costs, according to court records reviewed by DCN.

In its June 2025 complaint, the landlord alleged that Outset had stopped making rent payments after December 2024, accumulating approximately $101,375 in unpaid rent and other charges by April 2025. The landlord said the cafe had displayed a sign announcing a temporary closure due to staffing changes and had stopped responding to communications.

The landlord said it terminated the lease on April 29, 2025, after serving notices stating that it believed Outset had abandoned the property, according to the original complaint.

In a separate case, landlord 90 New Montgomery Partners filed an eviction lawsuit in October 2025 alleging that Outset owed $121,775 in unpaid rent and other charges at its downtown location.

The court entered a judgment awarding the landlord possession of the property on Dec. 30, 2025. The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office ultimately returned possession on July 29, 2026.

Daily Coffee News has reached out to Outset ownership seeking comment. 

Outset Coffee History

Outset opened its original Valencia Street cafe in the summer of 2023, offering specialty coffee drinks incorporating ingredients such as durian, osmanthus and yuja alongside more traditional espresso drinks.

As Daily Coffee News reported shortly after the opening, the cafe served coffees from Onyx Coffee Lab and was backed by Fuji Inc., which also owned fruit tea brand Zero& and bakery brand Hanabi.

Outset expanded in January 2024 with the roughly 1,500-square-foot cafe at New Montgomery and Mission streets. The business received local recognition, including a place in the San Francisco Chronicle’s 2024 guide to the Bay Area’s best coffee shops.

In July 2025, Outset co-founder Heng Qiu told Eater San Francisco that his business partner was negotiating with the Valencia Street landlord in hopes of reopening the cafe. By September, Eater reported that bubble tea chain Little Sweet was taking over the location.

Fuji Inc. is headed by Weiyao Sun, also known as Toby Sun, a co-founder of electric scooter ride-share company Lime. Sun’s Zero& beverage chain has faced separate landlord disputes and evictions.

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