Philz Coffee Secures Additional $15 Million Investment for Nationwide Expansion

Philz Coffee Phil Jaber. Facebook photo.

San Francisco-based Philz Coffee has secured $15 million in investments from sources including Jonah Hill and Snoop Dogg, with plans to expand its retail footprint nationwide.

News site Techcrunch, whose founder Michael Arrington founded a company representing one of the angel investors, broke the story early today, reporting that the Series B round of financing was led by the investment firm Summit Partners, the same firm that led an additional $15 million investment in Philz in 2013.

Cowboy Ventures, Crunchfund (Arrington’s company), Yahoo Chairman Maynard Webb, Facebook executive Mike Schroepfer, and former Apple executive Ron Johnson were identified as angel investors, along with some high profile players in the entertainment industry, including Snoop, Hill, Lawrence Bender and Jamie Kennedy.

Philz, now 12 years old, currently operates 18 Bay Area coffee shops, plus one in Los Angeles. Jacob Jaber, the son of Philz founder, Fedora-wearing former local grocer Phil Jaber, told Techcrunch initial plans surrounding the investment include improving current stores and adding at least 10 more throughout the nation this calendar year.

The company’s success is perhaps in spite of some of the defining characteristics of upscale contemporary coffee roasting and retailing. Philz doesn’t shy away from darker roast profiles, and it hangs its fedora on blends, rather than single-origins, with more than 30 on its menu.