Actor Dempsey ‘thrilled’ with successful bid for coffee chain

‘We got it!’ he tweets of quest to acquire Tully’s

SEATTLE • Actor Patrick Dempsey said it appears his bid to buy a small coffee chain has prevailed in a bankruptcy auction that included Starbucks Corp.

Late Thursday night, Dempsey announced that his company, Global Baristas LLC, made the winning bid for Tully’s Coffee. He noted in a KOMO-TV interview that a bankruptcy judge will have the final say on Jan. 11. Still, Dempsey tweeted: “We got it! Thank you Seattle!”

Dempsey’s company will pay $9,150,000 US for Tully’s and complete the purchase later this month after the court hearing, he said.

“I’m thrilled that we won and I’m even more excited about saving Tully’s Coffee and its hundreds of jobs,” he said. “Tully’s is a great company with committed employees, and with its base in Seattle, one of the world’s greatest cities, I’m confident we will be able to successfully build the brand and help grow the economy.”

Tully’s has 47 company-owned locations in Washington state and California. The company, with more than 500 employees, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October.

Dempsey, who gained the nickname “McDreamy” on the TV show Grey’s Anatomy set in a fictional Seattle hospital, has said he wants to rescue the chain. “Seattle has been very good to me over my career, and I am honoured to have the privilege to own Tully’s and work closely with the company’s employees,” he said in his statement.

After Thursday’s auction, Starbucks spokesman Zack Hutson confirmed his company participated and “is currently in a backup position” for some of Tully’s assets.