After 26 years in business at Boulder’s Community Plaza Shopping Center, the original Vic’s Espresso will serve its last cup of coffee this summer.

The Broadway coffee shop — one of five Vic’s locations in the county — is set to close at the end of June, owner Mike Hilliker said.

It’s not lack of business that’s shuttering Vic’s, he said, but a decision by the shop’s landlord to lease the storefront to another business.

Hilliker said Vic’s has been operating on a month-to-month lease with Boulder-based landlord Austin Real Estate Services for the past two years. Monthly rent at the coffee shop is about $8,000.

Why the landlord has decided to move on from Vic’s is a mystery to Hilliker, but he said he’s heard “talk about putting a wine bar in.”

Hilliker said he would prefer to remain in the location, but he doesn’t think it’s likely the landlord will have a last-minute change of heart and extend Vic’s lease.

“This is the way you treat a small business person who has been here for 20-plus years? That’s the upsetting thing about it,” he said.

Representatives with Austin Real Estate Services could not be reached for comment.

Hilliker said he won’t rule out the possibility of opening another coffee shop near the Community Plaza Shopping Center, but “I don’t know if there is any (commercial space) in the area that’s comparable.”

He lamented the impending closure of the flagship Vic’s, which the former barista opened in 1992.

“It’s like losing a right arm,” Hilliker said. “I’m just so used to it being there and we have a strong community following.”

That following was on display Tuesday, as customers reflected on the closure, which was announced with signs on the front door and next to the cash register.

“It’s a real shame that they’re going to have to close,” Lauren Harding said. “This location is great and I’m not sure we need a wine bar here.”

Christine Chen agreed.

“I’m definitely going to miss this place,” she said. “I’ll probably just go to one the other (Vic’s locations), but this one is most convenient for me.”

Hilliker said he will continue to operate the Vic’s locations in Boulder at 3305 30th St. and 1886 30th St., and in Louisville at 801 Main St. and 1055 Courtesy Road. A former Vic’s location on Table Mesa Drive — which was renamed Que’s Espresso — became a First National Bank in 2007.

Lucas High: 303-684-5310, lhigh@times-call.com