For some in Belmont Shore, Peet’s Coffee on Second Street was about as close to a real-life Cheers as it gets.

“That’s what we are,” long-time patron Toni Cunningham said. “This is a place where everybody knows your name.”

She and a handful of other Peet’s regulars gathered around the same front table they always do on Friday, Jan. 25, for the last time. The coffee shop, which first opened in June 2003, was set to close for good.

The regular coffee crew at Peet’s Coffee & Tea on 2nd Street. L-R Toni Cunningham, Peter Paysse, Greg Huddleston, Daphne Guertin holding Samantha, Sam Gangwer, Rose Wright, Shana Wright and Ed Agresti having their final cup on closing day. After 15 years in Belmont Shore the shop is closing in Long Beach on Friday, January. 25, 2019. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

Peet’s Coffee & Tea on 2nd Street is closing shop after 15 years in Belmont Shore. On their last day of business for the community shop they vowed to pour the java until it ran out in Long Beach on Friday, January. 25, 2019. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

Peet’s Coffee & Tea on 2nd Street is closing shop after 15 years in Belmont Shore. On their last day of business for the community shop they vowed to pour the java until it ran out in Long Beach on Friday, January. 25, 2019. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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Peet’s Coffee & Tea on 2nd Street is closing shop after 15 years in Belmont Shore. On their last day of business for the community shop they vowed to pour the java until it ran out in Long Beach on Friday, January. 25, 2019. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

Peet’s Coffee & Tea on 2nd Street is closing shop after 15 years in Belmont Shore. On their last day of business for the community shop they vowed to pour the java until it ran out in Long Beach on Friday, January. 25, 2019. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)



Julie Folcik writes a note of farewell at Peet’s Coffee & Tea on 2nd Street which is closing shop after 15 years in Belmont Shore. On their last day of business for the community shop they vowed to pour the java until it ran out in Long Beach on Friday, January. 25, 2019. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

The regulars sit outside of Peet’s Coffee & Tea on 2nd Street as they have for the past 15 years but this is the last day of business for the community shop in Long Beach on Friday, January. 25, 2019. The group says they’ll miss Peet’s but they’ll still gather each morning, likely at the shop across the street, because that’s just what they do. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

The regulars sit outside of Peet’s Coffee & Tea on 2nd Street as they have for the past 15 years but this is the last day of business for the community shop in Long Beach on Friday, January. 25, 2019. The group says they’ll miss Peet’s but they’ll still gather each morning, likely at the shop across the street, because that’s just what they do. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

“As with any retail business, Peet’s Coffee must keep pace with changing and evolving markets to enable healthy company growth,” company spokeswoman Elizabeth Ricardo said in an email. “While it is not an easy decision, regional adjustments to our coffeebar presence is important for effectively managing our resources and continuing our U.S. expansion.”

Peet’s is just the latest in a series of Second Street businesses to shutter.

“Everyone who is seeing this place close is just devastated,” another customer, Jerry Goldress, said. “We’re exchanging emails so that when we find the right place to take its place, we’ll try to all get back together again.”

Goldress, who made his way to Peet’s from Seal Beach about twice a week with his wife, was a relative newcomer to the crew. He had only been frequenting the shop for the past three years.

“They’re the regulars,” he said, pointing to Cunningham and the half dozen others crowded around her table. “They’re here everyday. We’re not here everyday.”

Although the coffee shop was filled with the laughter of old friends meeting for their daily reunion, few of them knew each other before Peet’s came along.

“Actually, we did meet here,” said Daphne Guertin, who sat across from Cunningham. “Now we’ve been here for at least 10 years. We share birthdays, anniversaries.”

For Cunningham, the joy of Peet’s came from the ability to meet people from all walks of life and form lasting friendships.

“I think part of the fun of the table is how eclectic it is,” she said. “You have a retired policeman. We have a doctor. We have a city employee.”

The list goes on.

“Mostly, it’s about conviviality,” Andy Kincaid, another long-time regular, said.

In a city with endless coffee options, no one could quite pin down what it was about Peet’s that drew them all there — and kept them coming. Goldress admitted he tends to avoid chains, but the Bay Area-based roaster just had something special.

“It’s like a coffee klatch,” he said. “The people are super friendly, and so we just enjoy coming here.”

As folks enjoyed their final drinks, no one had yet decided where they should migrate. Goldress said that some had mentioned Philz Coffee down the street at Park Avenue, but that wouldn’t work because they didn’t make lattes, which is all he and his wife drink.

Peter Paysse, also a daily customer, said Caffe Bene in Bixby Village Plaza was another contender, but that may be too far to walk for some.

Wherever they end up, the gang is confident they will continue their daily ritual somehow.

“Come find us in six months,” Guertin said. “We’ll find something.”