Ellianos Coffee focuses on franchise
development
Coffee
shops are now prepared for Post-Covid consumers’ behavioral change with the
expansion of Drive-thrus services all across the US.
Ellianos Coffee from Lake City, Florida was founded in 2002 by Scott and Pam Stewart
which now has 20 locations in Alabama, Florida and Georgia. They’ve been
franchising their double drive-thru coffee shop since 2003.The franchise
development is becoming a new strategy after studying the new trend of customers’
habits with the increase demand for drive-thru fast services.
After
being inspired by their travels in the Pacific Northwest, Scott and Pam brought
the first double-sided drive-thru to their community when the kiosk
model for specialty coffee was still in its infancy. The business segment has
since became highly competitive with the likes of Scooter’s Coffee (300-plus
units), Biggby Coffee (250 stores), PJ’s Coffee (about 120 units), The Human
Bean (100-plus stores) and Ziggi’s Coffee (30 stores) all angling for a share
of the market.
Scott,
with decades of experience as a Little Caesars franchisee said where Ellianos
stands out is its focus on quality and profitability.
According
to Item 19 of respective franchise disclosure documents average gross sales for
Ellianos Coffee stores in 2020 were $875,307. That’s higher than Scooter’s, at
$637,104 in average sales from its kiosk locations, and Biggby, at $759,379
from its drive-thru units,. The Human Bean, meanwhile, reports average sales
for 13 company-owned stores were $828,448 in 2020; it doesn’t disclose
financial performance information for its franchise locations.
The
products on the menu, such as the Tuscany Toffee latte and Venetian Vanilla
Crème caffébreve, are “true, real espresso drinks, no powder, nopremix. It’s
all made in house at Ellianos.
“Volume
is also driven by those double drive-thrus and a total service time of two
minutes, which when combined with its specialty products makes Ellianos an
effective model”, said Scott to the media.
“We
started this in a small town of 20,000 people and said, if it can work in this
town, it can work anywhere. And it does,” continued Scott. “We want to be the
local coffee shop where people are glad we’re in their neighborhood.”
As
it looks to grow in its home state of Florida, plus Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee
and the Carolinas, Scott said it’s important to him that franchisees who join
the system see Ellianos as an opportunity to build a long-term relationship
with the brand.
The
cost to open an Ellianos Coffee franchise ranges from $340,000 to $575,000,
including a $25,000 franchise fee.