In a world where coffee snobs are more interested in small-batch roasting houses like
Blue Bottle and
Intelligentsia than international chains, there's no longer a lot of street cred to be gained by wandering around town with a cardboard
Starbucks cup. But if you're the type who's more concerned with showing off your hometown Philly pride, you might want to consider developing a
Saxbys Coffee habit.
The chain was founded in Atlanta in 2005, but relocated two years later to Delaware County. Saxbys has now plans to move its corporate headquarters once again, this time to Philadelphia proper. And while Saxbys is keeping mum about the date of its upcoming move -- and hasn't yet closed on a location -- those details should be made public this summer.
According to president and CEO
Nick Bayer, the company also has tentative plans to open eight new cafes throughout the Mid-Atlantic region this year. Locally, a lease has been signed on a 1,700-square-foot location the company is calling Saxbys Wash West. Scheduled to open on the southwest corner of 11th and Locust this summer, it'll be their sixth location in the city.
"We're also looking at a couple other pieces of real estate in Philly that may deliver this year," says Bayer, who adds that he's also been working for the past 18 months on a deal with
Drexel University. "We can't announce exactly where it is just yet," he says of the Drexel cafe, "but it's going to be something very unique; it's going to be much more than just a traditional neighborhood coffee shop."
Stay tuned to
Flying Kite for more details as the deals develop.
Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Nick Bayer, Saxbys Coffee