On Monday, January 23, 2017, Luxury Farms officially closed its doors to customers in Coronado. This is news that comes as a shock to not only members of the community who adored sipping on the store’s signature lavender lattés, but the boutique’s friendly employees.
The Coronado Times spoke with one of the co-founders of Luxury Farms, Melissa Scott Clark, about the abrupt closing of the Coronado luxury boutique and espresso bar and it appears that she was surprised by the decision to permanently close the store. “I was not aware that the store was closing permanently,” says Clark. “The majority owner made that decision without me and is in control of the day-to-day management of the store.”
Director of Marketing, Food & Beverage for American National Investments, Julia Baker, who works for Luxury Farms’ majority owner Gina Champion-Cain, responded to The Coronado Times’ request for a statement about the recent closure. “Luxury Farms is closed in Coronado and will not be re-opening.” says Baker. “The Mission Hills location will close at the end of January. Gift cards can be used at the Mission Hills location until January 31st.”
When pressed for an additional comment regarding the sudden closure, she did not wish to comment. Within less than 24 hours after the announcement of the store’s permanent closure, the storefront was stripped clean. Even the sign was torn down.
“I walk by this shop all the time and always look inside,” says Jill McCoy. “Today, I walked by and saw a blank business space. It looks like the space has been vacant for a while, based on how bare the exterior looks.”
Many locals are turning to social media to express their sadness about the sudden closure.
“Me and my staff are just sick about the whole situation,” writes former store manager Kelley Moats on the Coronado Happenings’ Facebook page. “You all were, and are, like family to us. Blessings to you all.”
“It was a delightful place,” says Cece Canton. “Nothing else here to replace it!”
“I will miss my weekly lavender lattes and all the smiling faces in the store,” says Theresa Vitale Jones.
“I want to thank the community of Coronado for their support of the store,” says Clark.
If you recall, The Coronado Times interviewed Clark less than one month ago about the addition of the espresso bar and coffee shop to the store. At that time, Clark mentioned the coffee bar “had more than doubled foot traffic and the coffee regulars are now frequent retail shoppers, as well.”
The Coronado location opened the weekend of July 4, 2015, and launched the coffee and espresso bar on November 1, 2016.
