Four Barrel Coffee Is Changing Its Name

It's now The Tide, after the roaster's original owner was accused of sexual harassment

Last week, the San Francisco Chronicle published an investigation regarding Four Barrel, a popular Bay Area coffee roaster, revealing multiple counts of sexual harassment against founder Jeremy Tooker.

In light of Tooker leaving the company after the obvious backlash following said allegations, remaining owners Jodi Geren and Tal Moore announced they would be formally changing the company's name to The Tide, citing that "Four Barrel died" with Tooker's departure. Geren and Moore also announced in a blog post their plan to completely divest their shares from the business until the company is 100 percent employee owned.

Though many have praised the owners' actions, that still hasn't stopped all SF-area businesses from cutting ties to the roaster, as many have pointed out Geren and Moore share responsibility in Tooker's actions by ignoring employee complaints.

"It's not about what they're going to do," Wendy Lieu, owner of Socola Chocolatier, tells the Chronicle. "This whole thing is about what they didn't do. . . . The name change and everything—that's not what their focus should be on right now."