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McDreamy Patrick Dempsey Beats Out Starbucks in Bid for Struggling Coffeehouse Chain
Actor Patrick Dempsey's bid to rescue Seattle-based Tully's Coffee from falling off its very own fiscal cliff has been accepted in a bankruptcy auction that found the "Grey's Anatomy" star up against coffee powerhouse Starbucks."Late Thursday night, Dempsey announced that his company, Global Baristas LLC, made the winning bid for Tully's Coffee," reports the Associated Press. The judge will make the final ruling January 11.
Beating Starbucks was actually the initial vision for Tully's when it opened in 1992. They now have 47 company-owned stores in Washington and California as well as five franchised locations and 58 licensed locations throughout the Western US. In recent years, several Tully's locations have closed down.
Still, Dempsey, whose nickname "McDreamy" stems from his work on the Seattle-set show "Grey's Anatomy" is excited to put his money--that's $9,150,000--where his coffee-lovin' mouth is.
Said the actor in a statement:
"I'm thrilled that we won and I'm even more excited about saving Tully's Coffee and its hundreds of jobs. Tully's is a great company with committed employees, and with its base in Seattle, one of the world's greatest cities, I'm confident we will be able to successfully build the brand and help grow the economy. "
Dempsey was all about beating the behemoth 'bucks, as per his delighted Tweet Thursday night:
We met the green monster, looked her in the eye, and...SHE BLINKED! We got it! Thank you Seattle!
— Patrick Dempsey (@PatrickDempsey) January 4, 2013