Peregrine Espresso Will Close Its 14th Street Shop This Month Because of Rising Rents

Peregrine Espresso will close its location on the 14th Street NW strip on Sunday, June 28, as it approaches the end of a 10-year lease. Co-owner Ryan Jensen confirms the local cafe chain would not be to able to keep up with rising rents in the neighborhood. Peregrine announced the news, and its reasoning, in a tweet yesterday.

“The closure isn’t pandemic-related but we (and our staff) have known this was coming for some time. Due to the increase in rent the landlord was looking for moving forward,” Jensen says.

Peregrine’s two other D.C. locations — the original in Eastern Market (660 Pennsylvania Avenue SE) and another stall inside Union Market — are unaffected by the news. Current hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Upon its debut in 2008, Peregrine was one of the first coffee bars in D.C. to use pour-over methods to brew beans sourced from South America. In 2017, founders Ryan and Jill Jensen launched sister roasting company, Small Planes Coffee, near the National Arboretum (2400 T Street NE).

Coffee competitors along the 14th Street NW strip include the Wydown, Slipstream, Colada Shop, and a new location of Bluestone Lane anchoring the redeveloped Liz complex. At the height of the citywide shutdown in early April, Peregrine customers contributed $10,500 in coffee and pastries to local healthcare workers.

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