Since abruptly closing its doors last weekend, Butter It Up's franchise owners are looking for interested buyers to take over the location.
The franchise owners of Butter It Up, Jeremy Mullins and Andrew Hines, opened several new coffee shops around West Virginia last year after their first location in Huntington proved successful.
Its Charleston location was unique in that Mullins, Hines and another partner, William Glavaris, co-owned the shop, but it was managed by Glavaris.
Glavaris recently told Hines and Mullins he could no longer operate the cafe, and Hines said he made the decision to close its doors.
"In the restaurant business, you really have to have someone there all the time with some skin in the game [who's] gonna put in the hours; none of us are able to do that anymore," Hines said. "I couldn't just leave it open with someone not knowing how to run it properly."
The big picture, he said, is about building Butter It Up's brand, which could be compromised if customers have a poor experience.
"We'd rather take the financial burden [of closing the store] than let some people have a bad experience," Hines said.
Calls made to Glavaris were not returned Thursday.
One of Butter It Up Charleston's five employees, Shawna Adkins, had worked a shift at the store last Saturday, only to receive a call from Glavaris later that day with the news that it was closing.
Hines said he and Mullins are interested in selling the location to a new owner, but they're not willing to give it to just anyone.
"We're not just gonna sell it to someone who has the money because they want to open up a shop - there's a lot of time and love that goes into running one of our stores," Hines said.
"Luckily, the stores we have open now are all operated by people we know and trust."
Despite closing its capital city location, the franchise is preparing to open several new locations with separate owners, including Morgantown; Fairmont; Lewisburg; Bluefield; Suffolk, New York; and Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Those locations will continue to feature butter-infused coffee, a 100-percent gluten-free menu and locally sourced food options.
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.