Murky Coffee Q&A

I somehow missed this when it was posted, but the owner of Murky Coffee did a Q&A on his blog last week about the future of his store. In a nutshell, the Capitol Hill store is permanently closed (it's official now), but the Arlington store will remain open. Definitely sad news for a great coffee chain at Eastern Market, but I'm nevertheless gladdened by the Arlington store being unaffected. Gives me a reason to visit Clarendon again. :)

More on Murky Coffee

The Post finally got around to reporting on the Murky Coffee situation, and apparently the financial distress of the store was worse than we were initially led to believe. Apparently it extended to back rent and the owner constantly missing payments. Though I find his justification rather ham-handed.

While conceding that he has been irresponsible, Cho chalked up the tax bill to "poor cash flow management." He disputes the tax office's assessment of what he owes, estimating it at about $200,000. And he said he also owes Virginia about $20,000 for sales tax at his Clarendon shop.

"In a nutshell, we've gained a pretty good reputation for our coffee quality. That's the side of the business I've done pretty well at," Cho said. "The financial management side I haven't."

Cho, who initially called his tax problems a "hiccup" in operations, said he never tried to evade authorities and always intended to make the payments.

"It's not that I went and bought a sports car or a horse. It's just general financial mismanagement," he said.

That may be so about financial mismanagement, but in the real world, when you don't meet your financial obligations, they will come back and bite you in the ass. It's a fundamental of capitalism, good coffee notwithstanding.

Murky Coffee closing!!!

Will sent me an IM last night with some terrible news: my favorite DC coffee shop, Murky Coffee, will be closing its doors due to an unpaid tax bill (to the tune of $220,000). The City Paper's been keeping tabs on the developments as they happen, and it appears that the District is only focusing on the Capitol Hill store. I've queried the owner to the fate of its Arlington store, and my hope is that it'll remain in business so that people can still enjoy Murky's wonderful blend of java.

In any case, this is a major loss for Capitol Hill and Eastern Market. I truly mean it when I say, Murky Coffee was some wonderful coffee, with a store that was very charming and quaint.