Tea time is over.
Santa Barbara’s Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, 3052 De la Vina St., closed its doors for good on Friday, the latest local coffee shop and restaurant casualty in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The store had been slated to close on Saturday, but workers on Friday afternoon said they received the corporate order early Friday to close.
The De la Vina shop was an air-conditioned and cozy getaway for many San Roque, Samarkand and outer State Street residents looking to read books and work on their computers. The corner spot was popular with gamers, and small groups would often gather in the evening pre-pandemic to chat and sip coffee, while sitting on the soft leather chairs. The spot was also popular with nearby orthopedic clinic workers who enjoyed the sweet ice blended mochas or hot teas.
The closure of the De la Vina Street store is the latest in a cascade of closures for the corporate store on the South Coast.
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at 811 State St. closed its doors at the end of May. The Coast Village Road Coffee Bean, which just two weeks ago reopened as Mesa Burger, folded in 2018.
Only one Coffee Bean & Teal Leaf remains open on the South Coast, the one in Calle Real, which is closed for the weekend and will reopen on Monday.
Several Coffee Bean & Teal Leaf stores in Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach also announced on Friday that they were closing their stores. The company had been struggling for years and a year ago was purchased by Jollibee’s from the Philippines.
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit many businesses hard. It is estimated that 30 percent of the restaurants that closed during the pandemic won’t reopen.
Among the other coffee shops to close doors during the pandemic was Breakfast Culture Club, 711 Anacapa St., which since has reopened as Lighthouse Coffee.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.