2008 Woodie Awards
Biggby Coffee set to open by February after delay
Construction taking longer than expected for chain coffee shop
By: Mike Wayland
Issue date: 1/7/08 Section: News
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The coffee chain that was supposed to open in December at 4445 E. Bluegrass Road now is expected to open in late January to early February.
"Construction is in full swing and we're going as fast as we can," said restaurant owner Mike Densmore. "We got started Dec. 17 and everything is full-steam ahead."
Densmore said the delays are nothing besides usual construction and contracting issues.
"We're just having some issues with getting the contractor there as far as his manpower and stuff," he said in a Nov. 16 article in Central Michigan Life.
Densmore said he believes Biggby's will be an excellent fit in Mount Pleasant and the franchise seems to be well-accepted by students and city residents in college towns.
The once one-store coffee shop that was founded in East Lansing in March 1995 has grown into a franchise with more than 50 locations in nine different states, according to the company's Web site.
The Web site says the name change from Beaner's Gourmet Coffee to Biggby Coffee was announced at an annual corporate meeting in September because the name was considered derogatory to Hispanics.
"There have been no lawsuits or protests and the feedback has not been necessarily all negative," Beaner's spokesperson Tara Powers said in a Sept. 19 article in CM Life. "We just reached a point where we really needed to think about possibly changing the name."
Densmore said he has been using both names as a cross-marketing technique because what people are really looking for is the "B."
The billboard on US-127 uses the name Beaner's with the signature black B and orange background so people recognize the logo and product with both names when coming to Mount Pleasant.
When open, the coffee shop will have Wi-Fi Internet and a drive-thru, along with a special promotion each day during their grand opening week, Densmore said.
news@cm-life.com
