A Port Chester coffee roaster has been sued for allegedly not paying $600,000 for green beans.
The Serengeti Trading Co. accused Empire Coffee Company Inc. of breach of contract, in a July 23 complaint filed in U.S. District Court in White Plains, for stopping payments more than a year ago.
“Empire did not object to … Serengeti’s performance,” the complaint states, “or dispute the amount of the outstanding debt.”
Robert Richter re-established the Empire Coffee name in 1984, according to the company’s website, following in the footsteps of his great grandfather, Leo, who began roasting coffee in the early 20th Century.
In 1994, Empire opened a 60,000-square-foot facility on Purdy Avenue in Port Chester, where it roasts, grinds and packages coffee for private label companies.
It buys green coffee from importers such as Serengeti Trading, of Dripping Spring, Texas, that source beans from coffee regions around the world.
Empire has worked with Serengeti for more than 23 years, according to the complaint, and paid about $35 million for the goods.
In May 2023, Empire allegedly stopped paying invoices.
The roaster never questioned the quality of the coffee beans, complained about invoices or disputed assessed late fees, the complaint states.
On July 14 Empire paid nearly $30,000 on three past due invoices, according to the complaint, but as of July 19 it still owed $596,303.
Serengeti says it has communicated with Empire frequently over the past 14 months, and Empire has acknowledged the debt and promised to pay it.
“Nevertheless, defendant Empire has not paid any of the outstanding debt,” the complaint states.
Court records point to other financial stresses.
In January, Empire sued two customers on Long Island – Sacco Coffee, of Hempstead, and The Rebbe’s Choice, of Bay Shore – for allegedly not paying nearly $50,000 for coffee.
In June, Empire’s landlord claimed it was owed $485,493 for unpaid rent from September 2021 through this past May.
Empire’s Manhattan attorney, Michael P. Richter, did not reply to a message asking for the roaster’s side of the story.
