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COFFEE KLATCH

Coffee shop competition is at its hottest in densely populated Southern California. Among the chains chasing Starbucks and Diedrich:

It’s A Grind
Long Beach, Calif.
No. of stores: 60, with about 200 more under way
Preferred locations: Grocery-anchored open-air centers
Leasing contact: Walt Gapik, director of real estate, (562) 594-5600, ext. 258

Privately held It’s A Grind franchiser posts about $20 million in yearly revenue and is expanding aggressively, mostly in grocery-anchored centers. As of mid-June the chain had 200 additional shops under development across the country. The chain wants to close in on Minneapolis-based Caribou and Seattle-based Tully’s Coffee, both of which operate 300-plus units, says Steve Olson, senior vice president of franchise development. Olson pledges to maintain small-company attention to detail despite the expansion. “We hand-draw the lattes,” he said. “We temperature-check every single drink.”

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Los Angeles
No. of stores: 320 mostly corporate-owned units (146 in California, Arizona and Nevada; the rest outside the U.S.) and 101 licensed/franchised units outside the U.S.
Preferred locations: All types of centers, street-front and freestanding units
Leasing contact: Paul Goldman, vice president of real estate, (310) 237-2326

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s company-owned stores span the U.S., the Asia-Pacific region, Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. The chain’s domestic revenues alone will probably hit $120 million this year, says Paul Goldman, vice president of real estate. The company plans to open 36 stores in the U.S. and about 20 abroad this year. For next year, it plans about 50 in the U.S. and roughly 30 overseas.

— MA