“Not owning this storefront outright, and given our limited status as a former sub-tenant of another establishment, made the decision to close something that was unfortunately completely out of our control.”Įarlier this month, New York-based Joe’s Pizza announced plans to occupy the entire &pizza and Milk Bar space. “The closeness in proximity to our team member’s communication sharing their intent to unionize was purely and unfortunately coincidental,” it continued. &Pizza originally brought Milk Bar into its space during a years-long fight to win zoning approval, amid concerns from some Cambridge residents that a national pizza chain would hurt local shops. Milk Bar sublet its space from another food chain, Washington, DC-based &Pizza, which closed in May 2022, and the company said in a statement that it had to vacate as a result of that store closing. Milk Bar’s decision to close in Cambridge had nothing to do with union activities, said Kimberly Kaminsky, the company’s vice president of brand, creative, and communications. As union organizing has taken hold in the industry, a number of stores - particularly Starbucks locations and the Darwin’s coffee shop chain in Cambridge - have closed their doors, perhaps partly in response. The dispute highlights the growing tension around unionization efforts at coffee shops and other small restaurant chains, which also face a variety of pressures from inflation and labor shortages.
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