Why is Preservation Coffee closing? What’s next for the downtown Modesto space
Preservation Coffee & Tea announced Tuesday, Dec. 23, that it would be closing for good after nearly 13 years of business in downtown Modesto.
The announcement came as a surprise to customers, and the coffee shop’s employees said they also were blindsided. Manager Madison Condit said they found out it was a possibility only after a few of the shop’s regular customers saw a “vague” post advertising a downtown Modesto coffee shop for sale in October.
“When people messaged the poster, they were then able to find out it was Preservation,” Condit said. “We’ve been on edge since then about our jobs and the shop because we weren’t getting good communication from Paul.”
Paul Tremayne is the owner of Preservation, and a well-known Modesto restaurateur. Condit said he was “intentionally vague and unhelpful” regarding the sale and the future of the baristas’ jobs.
Tremayne said employees have known he was considering selling the coffee shop as early as July.
“I said (to Condit), ‘At some point I’ve got to sell this thing; you can make an offer,’” he said. “That’s a lot for one young person to do so that never happened.”
Condit said the past few years have been “especially hard” with the opening of other cafés in the downtown area. Despite “great working relationships” with them, she said Preservation fell behind because of how outdated the space is.
“The only reason I bought it is because I’ve been going to that coffee shop since the 90s,” Tremayne said. “It was going to close, and I didn’t want to close, so I bought it way back then and now it’s time for me not to have a coffee shop.”
What will happen to Preservation employees and the downtown Modesto site?
A meeting was called Sunday, Dec. 21., for Preservation employees and the new owners of the downtown Modesto space — Sacramento-based Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters.
Tremayne said there was a lot of interest in the space, but Chocolate Fish was the first prospective buyer “to step up.”
“Hopefully it goes well for them,” he said. “I want to be able to still go into that space and get coffee, even though we have lots of options downtown now.”
Preservation will close Tuesday, Dec. 30. Renovations for the franchise will begin Jan. 1 and will take around three weeks.
Chocolate Fish wants to keep Preservation employees but is not willing to pay them during renovations, Condit said. The possibility of paid training in Sacramento was mentioned, though the Modesto-based employees would have to fund their own transportation.
“The stress of coming financial instability so suddenly — finding out a few days before Christmas — as well as dealing with the emotional toll of losing this community space has been hard for us and for our customers,” Condit said.
For its remaining days, Preservation Coffee & Tea’s hours will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.
This story was originally published December 27, 2025 at 10:30 AM.
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