Speedy New Drive-Thru Location of BIGGBY® COFFEE Coming to Grand Traverse, Michigan

Category: Franchise Development

With her fifth location of the East Lansing-based brand in the works, DeWitt resident MaryAnne MacIntosh is set to become the area’s First Lady of Lattes.

Great news for coffee lovers on the go: Michigan-born BIGGBY® COFFEE will soon open Traverse City’s first drive-thru-only location. This new location, which is still under construction, will be open by early summer at 4041 US-31 Traverse City, MI 49685.

This is the third Grand Traverse-area BIGGBY location owned by MaryAnne MacIntosh; she also owns shops at 1535 S Division Street and 748 Munson Avenue, Suite 3. Additionally, she owns BIGGBY locations in Cadillac and Alma.

With this fifth store, MacIntosh is quickly becoming a dominant player in Traverse City’s competitive coffee climate. But that’s not why this “First Lady of Lattes” got into the coffee game.
“Opening these stores allows me to go out and do good in the communities in which they open,” said MacIntosh, who left a career in IT security to open her first franchise in Alma in 2013 after falling in love with the brand as a customer. “These stores have given me the chance to host fundraisers, hire from the local community and really give back to people as much as they’ve given me. I get really emotional when I talk about it.”

In addition to giving customers peace of mind during COVID-19 social distancing, the new drive-thru-only location provides busy Traverse City commuters a fast-and-easy way to grab their favorites from the menu on the go, whether a hot coffee, a cold brew, a barista-crafted latte, or even a savory sausage-and-egg Bagel. But civic-minded MacIntosh also hopes it will allow her to expand her ability to bring positivity to the community.

This year, in addition to donating food to local charities, MacIntosh has joined the Traverse City Chamber of Commerce to support local businesses that are struggling through the challenges presented by COVID-19. She is also part of the Traverse City Chapter of 100 Women That Care, a direct cash philanthropic organization with chapters around the country.

Caring for the community is all part of the reason she signed on to the purpose-driven BIGGBY chain, which signed a record 85 franchises in 2020. Founded in East Lansing in 1995, the company has set as part of its mission to spread love and help its customers, staff and franchisees “live a life that they love.”

“We’re big proponents of the idea of partnership and the idea that people are really the most essential component of any business transaction,” said Bob Fish, BIGGBY’s founder and co-CEO. “MaryAnne and the work she does in stores’ communities embodies that spirit.”

MacIntosh says she’s not done yet. She’s already eyeing locations for her sixth BIGGBY location. “My goal is to help as many people as I can before I leave this earth,” she said. “And I plan on doing it one BIGGBY at a time.”

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