Blue Mountain Cafes announced Friday that they had closed three of their Corner Baker Cafe locations in the Phoenix area.
The restaurants closed are located at:
- 1949 E. Camelback Road in Phoenix
- 15507 N. Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale
- 222 S. Mill Ave. in Tempe
In 2013, Blue Mountain Cafes signed a franchise agreement with Corner Bakery for plans to open 13 locations in seven years around Phoenix.
“We love Phoenix and are extremely sad to make this difficult announcement and decision,” Blue Mountain Cafes CEO Jim Long said in a prepared statement. “We will be focusing on our businesses in other states.”
Long explained that the recent minimum wage increase was a contributing factor to the decision to close the Phoenix area locations. All the employees working at the three closed Corner Bakery Cafes have been given severance packages due to the closures.
There are two remaining operating Corner Bakery Cafes in Arizona. One at the Arizona Center in downtown Phoenix, and one at the Wilmot in Tucson. Nationwide, there are nearly 200 Corner Bakery Cafe company owned and franchised locations.
