WEST MICHIGAN BIGGBY COFFEE LOCATIONS TAKE HOME STORE OF THE YEAR, TOP BARISTA AWARDS AND MORE AT ANNUAL FRANCHISE MEETING

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WEST MICHIGAN BIGGBY COFFEE LOCATIONS TAKE HOME STORE OF THE YEAR, TOP BARISTA AWARDS AND MORE AT ANNUAL FRANCHISE MEETING 
Store owners, operators and other key staff recognized at three-day event held August 16-18 in East Lansing 

EAST LANSING, MI, Aug. 24, 2011 – BIGGBY COFFEE is flowing in West Michigan! With 30 locations open, or under contract to open, throughout Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, the gourmet coffee retailer has without a doubt found a home (and some very wonderful customers too) in West Michigan!

This was made particularly apparent at BIGGBY’s 2011 Annual Franchise Meeting where the two cities were recognized for their success and combined to take home multiple awards including this year’s Store of the Year Award, the Big ‘B’ Cup Award and My Favorite Barista Awards.

Based on customer nominations, the 2011 Store of the Year went to the BIGGBY COFFEE located on Fuller Ave. in Grand Rapids and to franchise owner Kathy Brooks and store operator, Ellen Jones. Brooks and Jones’ store most exemplified the all-around energy, ambiance, customer engagement and satisfaction needed to take home the 2011 BIGGBY COFFEE Store of the Year award! Franchisee Cheryl Denton, operator, Brooke Blett and their BIGGBY store located on M-89 in Plainwell, were finalists for the Store of the Year award as well.

“It is an absolute honor to be named Store of the Year with so many other great BIGGBY locations out there,” Jones said. “The customers here in West Michigan are amazing and it feels wonderful to know they enjoy coming to our location and others in the area, as much as we enjoying seeing them every day. They are really more like family to us.”

One of the most sought-after awards, The Big ‘B’ Cup Award, was bestowed on franchise operator, Tim Barker. This award is given annually to the franchise operator who most embodies the core values of BIGGBY COFFEE in their store. The Barker family has been a part of the BIGGBY COFFEE franchise family since 2005 and currently have five stores located in the Grand Rapids area.

“I am so honored to be recognized by the founders of Biggby Coffee,” Tim Barker said. “We have worked hard to develop our stores as not only great coffee shops but places where the community can come and have a great time! Being able to celebrate that with other franchisees and award winners made for a very special night.”

BIGGBY COFFEE baristas Kristyn Heagberg of Grand Rapids and Kristen Bird of Kalamazoo were also recognized with the “My Favorite Barista Award”.  Altogether, nine baristas were chosen as finalists franchise wide, based on customer nominations and recognized for their dedication to superior customer service and to the BIGGBY COFFEE B Happy Brand!

About BIGGBY COFFEE®
East Lansing, Mich.-based BIGGBY® COFFEE opened a single store in March of 1995 based on the founding principle that coffee-lovers and the coffee-curious alike would benefit from a less pretentious approach to the standard gourmet café paradigm. BIGGBY COFFEE introduced connoisseur-worthy drinks with pronounceable names like Teddy Bear and Caramel Marvel, and barista staff surprised guests with simple gestures like free kazoos and bouncy balls for no other reason than to brighten their day. The “Big ‘B’” on the orange background caught on, and today BIGGBY COFFEE has 135 cafes open or under contract across six states including: Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, South Carolina, Wisconsin and Texas.  For more information, visit www.biggby.com.