Kauaʻi Coffee Co. delays layoffs while land lease negotiations continue

At Kauaʻi Coffee Co., 136 people will keep their jobs for now as potential layoffs have been delayed for a month while lease negotiations continue to drag on between land owner Brue Baukol Capital Partners and Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA, which owns the local business.

Both sides say they want to reach a new agreement, but nearly two years of negotiations has yet to lead to one. The current lease is set to expire on March 28.

Kauaʻi Coffee Co. said in a statement to Kauaʻi Now that it remains open to visitors and is operating as usual.

And on Monday, it was business as usual. Visitors tipped their tour guide and driver, walked the property, and stocked up on coffee. Employees approached by Kauaʻi Now declined to comment about the ongoing lease negotiations or their jobs.

Kauaʻi Coffee Co. also said it continues to actively negotiate with its landowner and hopes the talks will allow it to keep farming on the property for years to come.

“There are no plans to close Kauaʻi Coffeeʻs operations,” said Brian Kubicki, general manager at Kauai Coffee Co. “We continue to engage in active discussions with the landowner and remain hopeful that these conversations will lead to a positive outcome.”

The clarification comes as the company continues to issue Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications, also known as WARN notices, to employees due to the current timeline of its lease. Under federal law, employers must notify workers at least 60 days in advance of potential mass layoffs or closures.

“While we cannot provide a formal update as negotiations remain ongoing, we want to be transparent that the WARN notices will be extended monthly as conversations continue beyond the current lease’s end date,” Kubicki added.

Communications representative Ilima Long with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Local 142, which represents 69 of the coffee company’s workers, told Kauaʻi Now that they did not have “any comment at this time, but hopefully soon.”

Kaua’i Coffee previously distributed WARN notices to employees earlier this year.

The current WARN notices were extended on March 5, and all employees have been notified.

The notices said, although lease negotiations remain ongoing, “we believe sufficient progress has now been made to allow us to delay the contemplated closure of the business and termination of employees.:

It said the terminations that were to take place March 14 to 28 under the original notice now will not occur until April 18 to May 2.

James Priestley, vice president of Brue Baukol Capital Partners, told Kaua’i Now on Tuesday that they continue to work with Massimo Zanetti Beverage on a new lease for Kauai Coffee Co.

“While negotiations are ongoing, our priority and commitment are to ensure the land continues to support coffee production, local jobs and the preservation of agricultural lands,” Priestley said.

Massimo Zanetti Beverage said on its website: “If this was a continuation of our current lease, we would have signed the lease a long time ago.”

Neither side has said what the sticking points are of the negotiations.

Kubicki reiterated the farm and visitor center remains open to the public and encouraged residents and visitors to continue touring the property and sampling its estate-grown coffee.

“We continue to encourage both locals and visitors to come experience the farm, learn about what makes Kauaʻi Coffee unique,” he said.