Wangbickler, who officially opens the family enterprise on Monday, is one of a growing number of metro Detroiters who want a piece of the $9-billion specialty coffee industry.

Linda Wangbickler, 57, of Petersburg and her husband, Jim, are set to open a Beaner's Gourmet Coffee in Monroe on Monday.
 
And coffee chains are obliging. Besides Lansing-based Beaner's, franchise chains such as Coffee Beanery of Flushing and It's A Grind of Long Beach, Calif., are spreading across metro Detroit. Bad Ass Coffee Co. of Hawaii Inc. has heard from potential metro Detroit franchisees, but hasn't signed any contracts yet.

Starbucks Corp. of Seattle and Caribou Coffee Co. of Minneapolis, which don't franchise, are opening a number of company stores in the area as well.

The Detroit area has about 250 coffeehouses with room for 200 more, according to Beaner's research.

With so many choices, local residents often select a favorite spot because of atmosphere rather than the coffee.

"It's quiet. Nobody bothers me. I meet a lot of people here," said Vaughn Klugh, a 50-year-old Detroiter interviewed Friday at a Starbucks in Grosse Pointe. Besides, "it's cheaper to drink coffee here than at other places because they give me free refills."

At a nearby Caribou Coffee in Grosse Pointe, Cynthia Mitchell, 40, of Detroit was meeting friends as she does every Friday.

"It's quiet, peaceful. The music is very pleasant and puts you in the mood. When you come through the door, there's a nice ambience. I don't shop for the coffee. It's more the atmosphere," she said.

Each chain has its own twist on the perfect cup of coffee and the environment in which it's served. Most chains offer a range of coffee drinks, coffee beans sold by the pound, bakery goods, smoothies, tea, jazzy background music, energizing paint schemes, wireless Internet access and cushioned chairs in which to take it all in. People rarely sneeze at paying $3 for a cup of this coffee.

"People go to coffeehouses for a variety of reasons, and price is not even in the Top 10," said Steve Olson, senior vice president of franchise development for It's A Grind. "People are buying the experience. The price of a cup of coffee is the admission.

"We are not in the coffee business. We are in the experience business," Olson said. "There is this love affair with this product that represents far more than the beverage. That's why mass advertising doesn't work in the coffee business. We don't have 99-cent hamburger wars."

Wangbickler said her husband, Jim, a Ford Motor Co. researcher, researched a number of franchises before selecting Beaner's. Their son Jameson, 18, will work the store with mom.

Wangbickler estimated it cost $300,000 to open the store with franchise fees, store construction, equipment, supplies and the 18 employees hired. But she expects to start making a profit within three years when the family plans to open a second Beaner's franchise.

There were 17,400 gourmet coffeehouses in 2003 -- a sixfold increase from 1993, according to the Specialty Coffee Association of America. And daily consumption of gourmet beverages like lattes, mochas and cappuccinos has risen more than 70% in the past five years.

But most say they are not trying to emulate industry leader Starbucks Corp. Starbucks has 6,996 U.S. locations and is looking to add to the 82 sites it already has in metro Detroit.

Tony Schmitt, an associate at LaKritz Weber, a Southfield-based commercial real estate firm, said that no chain comes close to Starbucks in size, but each offers an alternative.

"I think you will see more coffeehouses coming into the market. Who survives or doesn't survive will be up to the customer," he said.

Beaner's plans to add 17 stores to the 27 it already has by the end of the year. Twelve of those are in Michigan, including stores in Novi and Monroe.

Source: Free Press
Author: Greta Guest