"Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick Dempsey has apparently placed the winning bid in Thursday's bankruptcy auction to buy the Tully's Coffee chain.
Dempsey, known as "McDreamy" on the hospital-themed television drama, is visiting Eastside locations at Clyde Hill and downtown Bellevue this morning, according to his Twitter feed.
Dempsey dropped by the Lincoln Square Tully's this morning, after the news that his group of investors placed the winning bid to buy the entire Tully's Coffee chain.
Fans, alerted to his presence through his Twitter feed, greeted Dempsey for pictures and to congratulate him.
Tully's Coffee was sold to an investor group led by Dempsey in a bankruptcy auction on Thursday. Starbucks, which also participated in the auction, says it's in a "back up" position to buy about half of Tully's remaining 47 stores.
"We met the green monster, looked her in the eye, and...SHE BLINKED! We got it! Thank you Seattle!," Dempsey wrote on Twitter Thursday.
The Associated Press reports Dempsey's placed the bid through his company Global Baristas LLC and plans to keep the Tully's brand. But Starbucks, which also participated in the auction, says it's in a "back up" position to buy about half of Tully's remaining 47 stores. A final decision on the winning bid will be determined in court on Jan. 11.
Pam Miller, who works in Lincoln Square tower with Colleen Kraus, said that they are glad that to see that the Tully's brand will stay together.
"I've been keeping abreast of the news of what's going on with the bankruptcy and the auction, and that he's potentially buying it," Kraus said.
"It's good to see that Tully's was staying together versus going to Starbucks," Miller said. "And talking with the staff, also, they're excited that they're going to stay as a company as a whole, versus being spun off to Starbucks and being sold in parts and pieces."
Christine Wood and Meghan Pearson, who are private dining sales managers at Maggiano's Restaurant next door to the Lincoln Square Tully's, invited Dempsey to eat the restaurant sometime.
"I thought it was pretty cool, especially since he's on a show that is set in Seattle, definitely I think that will give the brand a good name. He seems to be a great person not a celebrity who has a lot of drama or anything going on," Wood said. "I think he's a good representative."
"We're just happy to keep Tully's alive and that's going to stay alive," Pearson said.
