Snoqualmie shop owners fighting Starbucks' arrival

Bibo Coffee has held a lock on Snoqualmie Ridge caffeine addicts since it opened in 2002.

As the only java house in a booming development off Interstate 90, owners Brandon Wright and Brandon Kuvara believed that, under their lease agreement, they would enjoy their standing for years to come.

When Kuvara and Wright discovered last fall that the Ridge's retail developer was in talks with Starbucks, they sued, claiming fraud and breach of contract.

A judge issued a preliminary injunction in December, halting commercial developer Mark McDonald — part of NWCC Investments and Village Partners — from further negotiations with Starbucks. The case is scheduled for a hearing in King County Superior Court on Friday, when Judge Charles Mertel will decide whether to dissolve the injunction.

"It's become the little guy versus Starbucks," Wright said. "But Starbucks just happens to be the company. We believe the landlord is violating the lease."

At issue is language in the Bibo lease that reads: "Landlord shall not lease space in premises that it owns at Snoqualmie Ridge, other than as part of any future grocery store development, to a full-service coffee shop."

What it boils down to, essentially, is one word in that sentence: development.

The owners argue that McDonald persuaded them to sign the lease, assuring them that the only other coffee shop in the retail plaza would be located in a grocery store, according to court records. Bibo did not see that as direct competition, Wright said.

But McDonald argues that "grocery-store development" encompasses more than just a grocery store — it includes an additional 20,000 square feet of retail space next to it, according to court records.

Bibo wants McDonald to revise the lease with an exclusivity clause that would prevent him from entering into a lease with Starbucks or any other full-service coffee shop, court records show.

"This is a case of buyer's remorse," said Paul Brain, McDonald's attorney. "Nowhere, except in very unusual circumstances, will you find just a grocery store in a suburban setting. What you'll typically find is a dry cleaners, a Blockbuster, a hardware store. And a coffee shop."

Bibo was one of the first businesses to open in the 1,343-acre master-planned community. Snoqualmie Ridge, like Issaquah Highlands and Redmond Ridge, was designed around the urban-village concept, which stresses dense housing, retail/office space and pedestrian-friendly streets. The first residents moved there in 1998. About 2,200 homes comprise the first phase of the Ridge, and more are on the way.

In late October 2001, Starbucks approached McDonald about leasing space but declined because there wasn't enough residential development and the Ridge had no grocery store, according to court records. The "possibility remained that Starbucks could be attracted to the site" if this changed, records state.

Wright said he and Kuvara, friends since elementary school, had considered opening Bibo in Seattle, but banked on developing a loyal customer base on the newly emerging Ridge.

"We took a chance, like every other business owner has here," Wright said. "And we were hoping to expand into other locations. This has kind of dragged us down."

Retail and office space have been slow to come to the urban villages. Just last month, the Ridge's first grocery store, IGA Village Foods, opened.

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com