American University students can be found working in Compass Coffee locations across the city, but that relationship could become complicated with the lawsuit filed between co-founders.
Co-founder Harrison Suarez filed a 43-page federal lawsuit on Jan. 13 against co-founder Michael Haft, accusing Haft, his family and Compass Coffee of running a racketeering enterprise while also defrauding Suarez of his share of the fair market value of the company. Suarez claims the company defrauded the government of some of the more than $10 million it received from pandemic loan and grant programs since 2020, according to The Washington Post.
“In 2013, I co-founded Compass Coffee with my close friend from the Marines. In July 2021, after years of hard work and while I was out of the country, my co-founder and his father forcibly exited me from the company and refused to compensate me for my equity. Since then, I have sought to resolve this dispute privately, constructively, and in accordance with our agreements. Yesterday, left with no other option, I filed suit in DC Federal Court,” Suarez wrote in a post on his LinkedIn a day after the lawsuit was filed.
Haft wrote in an email statement to The Washingtonian that “all of [Suarez’s] claims are utterly untrue.”
“As the pandemic disrupted our lives a few years ago, Harrison began experiencing more severe behavioral health challenges. Unfortunately, this led to a series of accusations and threats directed at me and my family — the same family who welcomed him into our home, supported him financially, and treated him as one of our own,” Haft wrote. “His accusations have only intensified over time, and while Harrison has not been involved with the business for several years, I have done my best to navigate these challenges in private.”
Suarez’s lawyers with Ali & Lockwood said they were unavailable for an interview with The Eagle. Compass Coffee was also unavailable for an interview.
Compass Coffee workers at seven storefronts attempted to unionize in July 2024, alleging that before and after the National Labor Relations Board unionization election, “Haft and other managers tried to discourage and prevent unionization through a variety of tactics,” according to The Georgetown Voice. This included mass hirings at unionizing cafés in anticipation, allegedly so there were new baristas to oppose the votes, and scheduling employees outside of their availability so they would be written up.
Izzie Radford, a senior in the School of Public Affairs, spoke about her time working at the Spring Valley Compass Coffee during the spring and summer of 2023 and her issue with the changing work environment as the “neighborhood” coffee shop became more corporate.
“I didn’t want to work in an environment that was pretty much turning into a Starbucks,” Radford said.
Radford said she had never had direct contact with the co-founders of Compass Coffee except for the one time they came into the store. She felt “upper management was pretty far removed” from their employees.
Radford said the training she received emphasized the story of Suarez and Haft bonding over coffee.
“I always thought they were best friends, so it was definitely shocking to hear about the lawsuit,” she said.
Radford remembers fondly working with great people and said the best part was interacting with the “regulars” who lived in the Spring Valley community.
“I hope they listen more to their employees and there’s more of a relationship between upper management and barista staff,” Radford said of her hopes for the company moving forward.
William Baird, a sophomore in the School of International Service, said he has loved his time since recently joining the barista team at one of the Golden Triangle locations, as well as the Adams Morgan spot.
Baird said there had been no “direct communication” that he had received from management regarding the lawsuit and that not much had been affected.
Baird said that he does not think anything at the shops will change in the short term, but that the founders’ problems should have been addressed outside of the courts.
“It seems like it probably should have been worked out in private, especially if their relationship is as storied as they paint it out to be,” Baird said.
This article was edited by Abigail Hatting, Tyler Davis and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Olivia Citarella and Hannah Langenfeld.
