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A popular San Francisco coffee shop owned by a tech founder has shuttered all of its locations after tenant disputes culminated with the owner being evicted and owing $200,000.
Outset Coffee, known for its Asian-inspired blend of coffees, matcha and fruit juices, got in hot water after owner Toby Sun, who co-founded Lime scooters, found himself in multiple battles over rent payments.
His business was evicted from its downtown location at 90 New Montgomery St. in August, according to court records first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
At Outset’s other location in the Mission District, a judge ordered the coffee shop pay $200,000 worth of back rent, fees and interest.
The two locations’ landlords claimed Outset owed a total of at least $223,000 in rent. Outset reportedly didn’t respond in court to either lawsuit from the landlords.
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In October 2025, the downtown location’s landlord gave the shop three days’ notice to pay rent or leave, seeking $121,000 in unpaid rent. The base rent was $9,500 a month that year, according to court records. An initial eviction attempt this January was unsuccessful, but Outset eventually vacated in August.
The landlord of the Mission District outpost claimed in its lawsuit that the shop stopped paying rent after 2024, and by April 2025 owed more than $100,000 in unpaid rent. Eventually, the shop stopped communicating and abandoned the space despite a 2028 end date for the lease, a lawsuit said.
Sun didn’t respond to media inquiries.
His rent problems were apparently not limited to coffee shops. Another business Sun founded, fruit-focused tea shop Zero&, also shuttered about a dozen locations. Those sites faced claims of rent delinquencies by multiple landlords, also leading to evictions.
Sun got into the food-and-drink business after stepping down as CEO of Lime, known for its ubiquitous e-scooters, in 2019.
He raised millions of dollars to launch Zero& in the Bay Area, Southern California and Boston. He launched Outset in June 2023 before opening a second location in 2024.
Outset’s closure was never officially announced, with some fans having find out the hard way.
“I loved their drinks and was so sad to find the Valencia one closed,” one social media user commented.
