Biggby's Gourmet Coffee right for downtown

From the Flint Journal

By Heather Burnash
Journal Reader

Over the past few weeks, there have been a few letters written about Biggby's Gourmet Coffee opening a location in downtown Flint. The concerns expressed in some of those letters seem to be based on misinformation. I have been very familiar with Biggby's for more than 10 years. Biggby's was founded by Bob Fish and Mary Roszell in East Lansing in 1995.

Many Biggby's are located in downtowns and in historic buildings. The company has a commitment to revitalization, downtown development and historic preservation. Biggby's is a Michigan company, and has thrived and grown over the past decade because of hard work and dedication. Most of the locations that I have been to have fireplaces, nice leather furniture and free wi-fi. They are always clean, their prices are comparable to other coffeehouses and the employees are friendly and well trained.

Biggby's also is a civic-minded corporation, offering free-trade coffees, and partnering with breast cancer charities.

While I do support the existing coffee shops, the addition of Biggby's is a step in the right direction for Flint. A successful downtown needs all of its storefronts to be filled, with a variety of retail and service providers, with a mix of privately owned businesses and franchises. Biggby's is a chain, just like Halo Burger, Subway, Holiday Inn, Citizen's Bank, Chase Bank, Mega Coney Island, Moy Kong, Sunoco and Rally's (also all located in the downtown area). We should give a warm welcome to Biggby's and thank them for being a part of Flint's future success story.

Heather Burnash
Flint

Original article: http://www.mlive.com/news/flintjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1202401219310320.xml&coll=5