Charity-tied chain Noble Ground Coffee abruptly closes all locations

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Noble Ground Coffee, a coffee shop designed to raise money for charity, has rapidly expanded throughout Arizona over the past three years. But suddenly, all of its locations have closed.

The cafe chain is run by parent company Thrive Services Group Inc. Similarly founded in January 2022, the organization, "envisions a world free of poverty, homelessness and hunger," and is "committed to creating a future where all people can thrive," according to its website. The site touts the success of Noble Ground and its fundraising efforts.

Since it's first Phoenix location opened, the company expanded to bring its specialty coffee drinks and popular cold brew flights to Tempe, Mesa and Ahwatukee.

The coffee shop's website previously listed its cafe locations. The site also offered ordering for bulk coffee beans. Both pages have been removed and the site now simply says "Noble Ground Cafes are temporarily closed. Thank you for your understanding."

This message is repeated on paper notices posted to the doors of the cafe's physical locations.

All of Noble Ground's social media pages have been taken down. Calls to the company's centralized customer service line remain unanswered. Phones at each Valley location endlessly play hold music. The cafe's location in Flagstaff is connected to a Goodwill Store. An employee at the store confirmed that location is closed as well.

On Thursday, the owners sent a statement to Phoenix New Times via a spokesperson.

"Noble Ground Coffee has ceased operations," the statement says. "Like many others in the restaurant and coffee industry, it is a challenging time to operate. We are proud and thankful for the efforts of our team at Noble Ground Coffee, and grateful for the support of our community over the past few years."

In January 2022, Noble Ground Coffee started as a kiosk inside Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix. It is listed as "the official coffee" of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury. The first two brick-and-mortar locations opened in November 2023, with one in Flagstaff followed by a cafe on the southwest corner of McDowell Road and Seventh Avenue.

Now, that Phoenix location has an umbrella secured to the locked door.