Silver Spring coffee shop Bump ’n Grind has closed their Ellsworth Place kiosk. Photo courtesy Pete Tan.
The Bump ’n Grind coffee and pastry kiosk in Ellsworth Place has closed, according to owner David Fogel.
The primary reason for the closing was a safety issue, he said.
“When your staff, one of the most important foundations of every business, has been assaulted over 20 times without adequate support from mall management, you realize enough is enough,” Fogel.
Mall ownership disputed the contention that there was a safety issue.
According to Terry Richardson, president of Petri Richardson Ventures, the shop “does not meet the standards required by the lease and the matter will be going to litigation, and therefore we can’t comment any further.”
“Neither David Fogel nor any of his staff ever reported an assault to mall management or contacted police,” said Julie Chase, a spokesperson for the company. “He is in default of his lease for multiple breaches and substandard operations in violation of his lease agreement and which mall management had requested he remedy.”
Fogel opened the second location of the coffee shop in late December at the invitation of mall management earlier in the year.
Bump ’n Grind’s original location at 1200 East-West Highway remains open.