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Popular local coffee shop chain closing its doors

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Public Espresso, a popular Buffalo café known for its coffee, donuts and more announced on social media Wednesday that it is ceasing operations April 4 following a tumultuous month.

"It's difficult to end on a sour note, but it doesn't diminish the many sweet ones along the way," the business wrote as part of its statement.

Earlier this month, the Erie County Department of Health had temporarily closed two locations — the one inside Hotel Lafayette and the Elmwood Ave. location — for sanitary code violations and permitting issues, respectively.

The business said all three of its locations — the third of which is on Seneca St. — are open with normal hours of operation and full menus for in-person service from now until the closing date.

"The last 13 years have been some of the most rewarding and challenging," the business wrote. "But the landscape of operating a small business has changed dramatically in that time.

"It has ebbed and flowed in many directions, and we have finally found the changing tides too difficult to navigate."