By Charlie Daehne
The Courier-Herald
As early as this fall, Sumner residents may be waking up to the aroma of freshly processed coffee thanks to a little help from the town’s famous pie.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters announced Monday it is moving its Tully’s roasting operation from Seattle to the Sumner Industrial Park. The company will lease 197,800 square feet of space in the White River Building on 142nd Avenue East. With the move, Tully’s will more than double the space it now occupies in Seattle.
“This is great news as far as I’m concerned,” Sumner Downtown Association Executive Director Shelly Schlumpf said. “Part of the Main Street recipe is economic revitalization.”
Schlumpf said Sumner has exactly what Green Mountain Coffee Roasters was looking for – a great downtown and community atmosphere. Since promoting Sumner as the Rhubarb Pie Capital of the World, Schlumpf has seen such positive feedback that the city served the pie at a meeting with Green Mountain.
“They loved it,” she said. “The corporate folks who were here even mentioned it to the Pierce County Economic Development Board that it definitely had an impact in their decision making.
“Not all businesses will see Sumner as the perfect location for a new corporate site, but other businesses, like Green Mountain, see it as an extension of their core business values.”
Fearey Group Vice President Amina Suchoski said Green Mountain is extending job offers to its 74 wholesale employees and is optimistic that most will relocate to Sumner. Plans call for the Sumner workforce expanding to about 125 by hiring locally over the next 12 to 18 months, she said.
Only a handful of employees from Vermont, where the company is based, are expected to make the move to Sumner.
“There are many great cities in Washington and, after an extensive search, GMCR chose Sumner,” Mayor Dave Enslow said. “That is quite an honor for us, and we’re so pleased to welcome GMCR as part of our community.”
Jon Wettstein, a vice president with Green Mountain’s Specialty Coffee Business Unit, said he is excited about joining the Sumner community and grateful for all the support the company received.
“Our investment in a new, modern site in Sumner will complement our existing facilities in our home state of Vermont and in Know County, Tenn.” Wettstein said.
He said the move will allow the company to achieve the significant growth and expansion it is planning for the Tully’s business, as well as the expansion of its other brands on the West Coast.
The Sumner site is the latest expansion for Green Mountain’s Specialty Coffee Business Unit.
GMCR is recognized for its award-winning coffees and innovative brewing technology.
The Vermont-based company bought Tully’s Coffee’s wholesale business in March for $40.3 million. The old Rainier Brewing building in Seattle will keep its landmark neon green “T” and remain Tully’s retail operations headquarters.
