BEANER'S COFFEE to Open Its First 'BIGGBY' Location

Category: Uncategorized

Westland, Mich., October 25, 2007 – BEANER’S COFFEE ®, the leading Lansing, Mich.-based coffee retailer, will open its first store under its new moniker—BIGGBY COFFEE—since announcing plans to change its name last month amidst concerns over use of the word “beaner” as a disparaging term.   The Westland location opens on Monday, October 29, marking it the 12^th Greater Detroit location for the rapidly expanding franchise.

The Westland BIGGBY COFFEE location will celebrate its grand opening by offering free brewed coffee to its customers all week long.  On Saturday, November 3^rd, customers will be eligible to compete in a coffee trivia contest to win free coffee for a year.

It is the first location for Mohamed Elfakir and his business partners Basem & Farah Almasri.  “Not only is it the first BIGGBY franchise for me and my partners, it’s also the first store that the franchise will open under the new name,” said Elfakir.  “It’s great to know we’ll play a key role in the transition of the brand.”

The 1,720 square-foot store is located at 37644 Ford Rd., between I-275 and Newburgh Rd, The store—open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday thru Saturday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday—will feature drive-thru service, free wireless internet access, a fireplace and plentiful comfortable seating.

The new location is part of a larger plan to double the number of Detroit-area stores over the next 16 months.  In the past two months the company has added locations in Royal Oak and Clinton Township and will add another in Westland at the end of the month.  The Detroit-area growth is in line with the Company’s plan to expand its retail presence in the U.S. by 60% by 2010.

About BEANER’S/BIGGBY COFFEE®

East Lansing, Mich.-based BEANER’S COFFEE was founded in March 1995 and began franchise operations in 1999.  Today the Company has 80 stores across nine states including Michigan, Ohio, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, South Carolina and Wisconsin.  BEANER’S features more than 30 gourmet coffee, fine tea and frozen drink selections in addition to an assortment of pastries and other fine eatables. In September of 2007, BEANER’S announced it would change its name to BIGGBY COFFEE.  The name transition should be complete by February, 2008.  For more information about BEANER’S® COFFEE, visit www.beaners.com.