Minneapolis — Caribou Coffee®, a national premium coffeehouse and Panera Brands company, has signed several multi-unit development agreements to franchise more than 300 new locations domestically. Caribou Coffee expanded its franchise program in October 2021, marking the first time interested candidates had an opportunity to own and operate traditional franchise locations in the United States.
In March 2022, Caribou Coffee announced the signing of its first multi-unit development agreement with Mike Mariola Restaurants to franchise locations in Ohio. Mariola and his team opened their first Caribou Coffee location on November 17, 2022, in Wooster, Ohio. Mariola plans to develop 60 locations in the Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati markets.
Caribou Coffee also executed a multi-unit development agreement with Wake Up 727 to franchise locations in Pinellas County, Fla., most known for the cities of St. Petersburg and Clearwater. Wake Up 727, under the leadership of Michelle Mathis, recently expanded its agreement to develop 35 locations with Mathis’ first location opening this fall.
Additional agreements have been executed with several Panera Bread franchisees. Caribou Coffee is part of the Panera Brands’ portfolio consisting of complementary brands, which include Panera Bread® and Bagel Brands®.
Paul Saber and Patrick Rogers will bring Caribou back to Michigan as Manna Development Group plans to develop over 50 locations across Michigan. Mike Hamra and Hamra Enterprises signed a multi-unit agreement to open 24 Caribou Coffee locations throughout Missouri including St. Louis, Springfield and Kansas City.
Most recently, Caribou Coffee entered into multi-unit development agreements with Kevin Ricci and Sam Covelli, the brand’s largest domestic franchise agreements to date. Ricci, owner of Covelli Family Limited Partnership, will open 60 Caribou Coffee locations in Florida including Gainesville and along the west coast of the state from Tampa to Naples.
Covelli, CEO of Covelli Enterprises, and the largest franchisee of Panera Bread, plans to open 100 Caribou Coffee locations across the northern half of Ohio, western Pennsylvania and Florida, including Orlando, and along the east coast of the state from West Palm Beach to Miami.
“Over the past 30 years, Caribou Coffee has refined and elevated the guest experience through an unwavering commitment to quality, as well as strategic investments in innovation,” says John Butcher, president and CEO of Caribou Coffee. “With a shared vision and commitment to Caribou’s core values, we’re thrilled to be further expanding our footprint nationwide alongside such experienced and passionate operators, and we look forward to supporting their success.”
Since its inception in 1992, Caribou Coffee has emerged as a leader in the coffeehouse segment. Industry-leading innovations in restaurant design have positioned Caribou Coffee for nationwide expansion, including the 2019 rollout of its trailblazing drive-thru focused Caribou cabin prototype featuring a significantly smaller footprint, designed to offer speed and convenience without sacrificing quality and service. Developed in partnership with some of the brand’s best store operators, the locations’ streamlined design and efficient model immediately translated to success. Over the past several years, Caribou has leveraged this momentum to propel its expansion with the 50th company-owned Caribou cabin location opening just last month. The Caribou cabin design coupled with the concept’s traditional coffeehouse prototype featuring a larger footprint for sit-down dining offers franchisees flexible real estate offerings that can cater to the unique criteria of their market.
Today, Caribou Coffee operates more than 750 coffeehouses worldwide: 330 company-owned, 141 non-traditional and 294 traditional franchise locations in 11 countries. For more information, visit www.CaribouCoffee.com.
SOURCE: Caribou Coffee