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San Francisco coffee company Outset Coffee has closed both its Mission District and Financial District cafes following separate disputes with landlords. One landlord received a $200,196 default judgment; another obtained a judgment for possession, with the sheriff returning the downtown property in July 2026.
Outset Coffee has closed both of its San Francisco cafes after separate disputes with its landlords led to a $200,196 default judgment over its Mission District location and a court-ordered eviction from its Financial District cafe. Daily Coffee News reported the closures on October 30, citing court records and the proceedings involving the two properties.
On October 7, San Francisco Superior Court entered a default judgment against Outset Coffee SF 2205 LLC and its parent, Fuji Inc. in a lawsuit brought by the landlord of the cafe at 790 Valencia St. Court records reviewed by Daily Coffee News show the judgment totaled $200,196: $166,194 in damages, $21,222 in interest, $10,752 in attorney fees and $2,027 in court costs.
The landlord, MW790VALE LP, alleged in a June 2025 complaint that Outset stopped paying rent after December 2024. It said unpaid rent and other charges had reached about $101,375 by April 2025. The complaint also alleged that a notice at the cafe described a temporary closure due to staffing changes and that the landlord could not reach the company. The landlord said it terminated the lease on April 29, 2025, after serving notices based on its belief that the business had abandoned the property.
A separate landlord, 90 New Montgomery Partners, sued over the Outset cafe at 90 New Montgomery St., alleging in October 2025 that the company owed $121,775 in rent and other charges. On December 30, 2025, a court awarded the landlord possession of the site. The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office returned possession on July 29, 2026, according to Daily Coffee News. The publication said it had contacted Outset’s ownership for comment.
Two Cafe Closures End Outset’s Expansion
The closures end the company’s presence at two sites in different San Francisco neighborhoods, after a short expansion that began with its Valencia Street cafe in 2023 and continued downtown in early 2024. The court cases also show that the consequences differed by location: the Mission District case resulted in a money judgment, while the downtown case resulted in the landlord regaining possession.
For customers and nearby businesses, the outcome means both cafes are no longer operating as Outset locations. The Valencia Street site has also been reported as the subject of a takeover by bubble tea chain Little Sweet. The reported legal outcomes offer a documented account of the disputes, but the landlords’ allegations about unpaid rent and the company’s response should not be treated as a full explanation from Outset, which had not commented to Daily Coffee News by publication.
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From Valencia Street to Downtown
Outset opened its original cafe at 790 Valencia St. in summer 2023. Its menu paired conventional espresso drinks with specialty offerings using ingredients including durian, osmanthus and yuja. The cafe served coffee from Onyx Coffee Lab and was backed by Fuji Inc., which also owned the Zero& fruit tea and Hanabi bakery brands, according to Daily Coffee News.
In January 2024, Outset opened a roughly 1,500-square-foot cafe at New Montgomery and Mission streets. The company received local attention, including a place in the San Francisco Chronicle’s 2024 guide to the Bay Area’s best coffee shops. In July 2025, co-founder Heng Qiu told Eater San Francisco that his business partner was negotiating with the Valencia Street landlord in hopes of reopening. By September, Eater reported that Little Sweet was taking over that location.
Daily Coffee News also reported that Fuji Inc. is headed by Weiyao Sun, also known as Toby Sun, a co-founder of electric scooter ride-share company Lime. The report notes that Sun’s Zero& beverage chain has faced separate landlord disputes and evictions; those matters are distinct from the two Outset cases described here.
“The landlord alleged Outset had stopped paying rent after December 2024 and owed about $101,375 in rent and other charges by April 2025.”
— MW790VALE LP, as described in its June 2025 complaint
Outset’s Response Remains Unreported
Outset’s account of the disputes is not included in the Daily Coffee News report. The publication said it had reached out to the company’s ownership for comment, but did not report a response. The Valencia Street complaint’s claims about rent arrears, the temporary-closure sign and alleged lack of communication are allegations by the landlord; the court’s October 7 default judgment is a separate confirmed procedural outcome.
The report does not establish whether Outset plans to reopen under another arrangement, whether the company or its parent intends to challenge or otherwise respond to the Valencia judgment, or what final financial arrangements may follow in either case. It also does not give details about the cafes’ staff or the precise dates on which both stopped serving customers.
Watch for Company and Site Updates
The next developments to watch are any response from Outset or Fuji Inc. and further information about the Valencia Street property’s reported takeover by Little Sweet. The downtown landlord has already regained possession, according to the reported sheriff’s return on July 29, 2026.
No reopening plan or additional court milestone was identified in the report. Until the company or the parties provide further information, the confirmed picture is that both Outset cafes have closed and the two landlord disputes have produced different legal outcomes.
Key Questions
Which Outset Coffee locations closed?
The closed locations were the cafe at 790 Valencia St. in the Mission District and the cafe at 90 New Montgomery St. in the Financial District.
What was the judgment in the Valencia Street case?
On October 7, San Francisco Superior Court entered a $200,196 default judgment against Outset Coffee SF 2205 LLC and Fuji Inc. The amount included damages, interest, attorney fees and court costs.
What happened to the downtown cafe?
The landlord sued in October 2025, alleging $121,775 in unpaid rent and other charges. A court awarded the landlord possession on December 30, 2025, and the sheriff returned possession on July 29, 2026.
Is Outset planning to reopen?
The report gives no confirmed reopening plan. In July 2025, co-founder Heng Qiu told Eater San Francisco that a business partner was negotiating with the Valencia Street landlord, but no later reopening agreement was reported.
Did Outset comment on the landlord disputes?
Daily Coffee News said it had contacted Outset’s ownership for comment. The report did not include a response, so the company’s account of the disputes remains unreported.
Source: dailycoffeenews.com
