Kitchen equipment retailer Sur La Table is acquiring 20-year-old online home coffee equipment seller Seattle Coffee Gear. 

Sur La Table, which was founded in Seattle and now has physical locations in 24 states, described the acquisition as an “asset purchase.” Neither the financial terms of the sale, nor the specific assets included in the sale, were disclosed. 

Seattle Coffee Gear launched in 2005, growing into a leading third-party seller of coffee equipment online. The company has historically focused on established brands for home or prosumer espresso machines, grinders, brewers and other coffee accessories, with a leaning towards the higher end of the home market. Its YouTube channel remains a popular option for consumers seeking expert reviews and operational tips. 

In 2022, Seattle Coffee Gear launched its own brand of espresso equipment, called Diletta. 2022 courtesy photo.

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According to Sur La Table, “the transition will be smooth for Seattle Coffee Gear’s existing customers, who will continue to enjoy the same level of service and expert guidance they have come to expect, now backed by the national retail presence and culinary expertise of Sur La Table.”

Online and in its dozens of retail stores — many within high-end shopping malls — Sur La Table maintains a similar approach to consumer engagement through cooking classes, which reached 700,000 consumers last year, according to the company. 

“We’ve long admired Seattle Coffee Gear’s reputation and deep expertise in the specialty coffee category,” Jordan Voloshin, CEO of Sur La Table, said in an announcement of the deal. “This acquisition will allow us to expand our current offerings by reaching the highly engaged coffee community in new ways that will elevate our customers’ shopping experience, while offering Seattle Coffee Gear’s core consumers elevated national retail reach.”

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