Peet’s Acquires Stumptown, Amazon Launches Artisan Shop

Peet’s Buys Stumptown: In a letter released on Tuesday, Stumptown Coffee Roasters announced their acquisition by Peet’s Coffee & Tea, a major West Coast coffee retailer. Although the companies maintain different philosophies, Josh Ricci, president of Stumptown, ensured the New York Times that the companies will continue to “run independently” and will be “treated as seperate businesses but with similar values.” This should come as a relief to Seattleites, as there is no need to worry about new beans or brews replacing the ones already beloved at Stumptown.

Amazon Continues to Expand: This week, the Seattle-based e-commerce company Amazon announced the launch of Handmade at Amazon, a new store offering handcrafted items from artisians around the world. This craft-centric branch of the website features a wide array of products, including artwork, jewerly and home decor. The site is comparable to the well-known handmade goods retailer, Etsy, whose shares dropped 6 percent Thursday morning following Amazon’s big reveal. Just a week ago, Amazon also reported that it would stop selling competing devices from Apple and Google in attempts to decrease competition in sales.

Obama in Town: The President of the United States is visiting the PNW today. He will be visiting Roseburg this afternoon, where he will speak to the families of victims of the Umpqua Community College tradgedy and discuss his call for new gun restrictions. The president will be greeted with both support and opposition, as many gun-rights activists plan to protest during his visit. Following his time in Oregon, the president will attend a fundraiser for Senator Patty Murray in Seattle. Commuters are advised to plan for changes in traffic. More info on how Obama’s visit may affect commutes can be found on KIRO7’s website.

Free Yoga at Strala Seattle: Local yoga studio, Strala Seattle, is celebrating its one-year anniversary tonight with a free yoga class and party. The event begins at 7 p.m, and all levels of yogis are welcome and encouraged. More information about the event can be found here.