Starbucks is no match for McDreamy!
Patrick Dempsey pulled out a win Thursday, Jan. 3, during a private auction to buy Seattle-based Tully’s Coffee, his rep confirms to Us Weekly. The Grey’s Anatomy actor, 46, outbid Starbucks with $9.15 million for the coffee chain.
Dempsey, who is a member of the investment group Global Baristas, was nervous about winning the auction.
“In Seattle, big day tomorrow! Hope we pull it off!” he tweeted Wednesday with a photo of himself at a Tully’s shop with an employee.
The next day he shared the good news. “We met the green monster, looked her in the eye, and . . . she blinked! We got it!” he announced. “Thank you Seattle!”
In October, Tully’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed 19 locations, ABC News reports. Dempsey said he hopes to save Tully’s 500 employees from losing their jobs.
“I’m thrilled that we won and I’m even more excited about saving Tully’s Coffee and its hundreds of jobs,” Dempsey said in a statement to Us. “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. Seattle has been very good to me over my career, and I am honored to have the privilege to own Tully’s and work closely with the company’s employees.”
And Tully’s seems thrilled to have Dempsey as their new owner.
“We are very encouraged and excited that Patrick Dempsey’s commitment to Tully’s, to the company, the stores and perhaps most importantly, in keeping the members of Tully’s family in place as they are today,” Scott Pearson, CEO and President of TC Global, Inc., said in a statement. “This is a big win for Seattle.”
