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Yes, there is a Nazi connection to these Capitol Hill chains

Craft beer. Journalism. Coffee. Sometimes issues in the global industrial marketplace reverberate all the way to 12th Ave thanks to Capitol Hill business connections to worldwide conglomerates.

Fascism watchers of Seattle social media, you can stop messaging CHS. We’ll make sure people are aware. If it helps inform your latte buying decisions, know that Panera Bread and Stumptown Coffee have, well, a Nazi past:

“It is all correct,” family spokesman Peter Harf, who is one of two managing partners of JAB Holdings, told Bild. “Reimann Senior and Reimann Junior were guilty. The two men have passed away, but they actually belonged in prison.”

Reports document the use of forced labor and support for Hitler by the German family whose company owns controlling stakes in a massive portfolio of companies with brands familiar to Seattle consumers including Stumptown.

Stumptown’s path into the JAB Holding portfolio was a bit of a wander. Stumptown became a wholly owned subsidiary of Peet’s Coffee and Tea in 2015 after the coffee chain obtained a partial ownership in 2011. JAB had acquired Peet’s in 2012. It has been reportedly sizing up a possible initial public offering in the stock market for its massive beverage holdings.

The Reimann family has reportedly donated some $11 million to charity after learning of their history. We’ve asked Stumptown and Panera to find out if there are any plans for local outreach or giving. The family has an estimated worth of around $37 billion.

Before you begin your boycott, know that you’ll have to also do without JAB Holding’s Keurig Dr Pepper subsidiary and Krispy Kreme.

In other news related to dark secrets and Capitol Hill coffee, lawyer Michael Avenatti has been arrested and charged with embezzlement and attempt to extort Nike. Before rising to national prominence as the lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels, Avenatti left a trail of financial chaos behind in the wake of the implosion of Tully’s Coffee, including unpaid taxes and rent for the chain’s Capitol Hill location.

 

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12 Comments
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bobbalou
bobbalou
5 years ago

I just knew there was something sinister behind Krispy Kreme. I bit into one once. Ick! Bwahahahaha!

southsound22@hotmail.com
5 years ago

This is ridiculous.

Nah
Nah
5 years ago

So Stumptown was founded in 1999. Peet’s coffee buys them in 2015 and the family who owns them finds out their long-deceased relative supported the Nazi regime. They are devastated over it and decide to donate 11 million dollars to charities whose missions oppose the views of the latter. Hardly sounds like a boycott is necessary… Stop harming the business of Capitol Hill businesses that have actually been here for a long time over this nonsense.

you are nonsense
you are nonsense
5 years ago
Reply to  Nah

the family is worth $37 billion, $11 million is nothing when it comes to the fortune they have made from the suffering of others. they need to do more!

cd neighbor
cd neighbor
5 years ago

How much do you really know about your grandparents…. I must say that though I have no reason to expect that either of my grandfathers ever did much that would qualify as nefarious, I honestly don’t have any idea… One died when my mother was still a child, the other was simply enigmatic, or perhaps more accurately, not particularly engaged with the people around him. Nor have I ever met their extended families, so I shall remain blissfully ignorant, not knowing one and only having a child’s recollection of the other. Why should we really expect that this family should have been somehow more informed, at least on that very personal level.

It sound like the latest adult generation had records and, a desire to know more- seeing that they hired a historian. They could have just let it lie, or even buried the story, but they haven’t and they are giving the revelations serious thought. Give them at least that.

southsound22@hotmail.com
5 years ago

More? Says you.

Nah
Nah
5 years ago

No fortune has been made from the suffering of others. If you actually paid attention to what you read, the nazi sympathizer POS has never had anything to do with these businesses. You’re delusional.

southsound22@hotmail.com
5 years ago
Reply to  Nah

Noone better be driving a VW, or using a Krupp coffee maker, or a Mitsubishi, or Nissan, or Toyota, or a BMW…….take a breath crazies

cd neighbor
cd neighbor
5 years ago

Or using any product manufactured by Bayer, using a computer with chip made by IBM, drinking Coca-Cola or any of it’s other products, wearing Hugo Boss… the list could go on and on.

Sip Sip Hooray
Sip Sip Hooray
5 years ago

I think I just heard the sound of a thousand theremins go silent as hipsters across the hill realized their Stumptown coffee is just as corporate as my delicious Starbucks cold brew.

Fairly Obvious
Fairly Obvious
5 years ago
Reply to  Sip Sip Hooray

I think the most shocking part of the story is that people still drink Stumptown after it sold years ago and went national.

The quality took a nosedive and there are many local coffee roasters that are much better than the mediocre quality one expects from Stumptown.

I do recognize the role and influence they had in the so called “third wave coffee”.

Neighbor
Neighbor
5 years ago

Rumor has it Trader Joes has some skeletons as well.