By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Steve Antaya and his father, Tom Antaya, own Tom’s Food Center and three other successful businesses in Portland, MI. So when they decided to diversify their holdings even further, it seemed a natural move to open their new Biggby Coffee shops in nearby Lansing. But the healthier Grand Rapids economy drew them, instead.
Just over a year ago, the duo purchased the Biggby Coffee on Monroe Center. Since then, they’ve opened one on West River Drive and one on Cascade Road. Last month, they opened the Biggby Coffee at Michigan and Fuller, in a building recently constructed by longtime Grand Rapids entrepreneur Gus Afendoulis.
“We’ve been looking at other opportunities to grow our biz outside Portland, and we got talking with some people who said there’s a heck of a lot more opportunities to grow in Grand Rapids,” says Steve Antaya. “The Grand Rapids area seems to be almost the only spot in the state that seems to have any growth left.”
The new shop serves six different brewed coffees each day, as well as espresso, cappuccino, lattes, iced drinks, blended drinks, and fruit crème freezes. The stores offer a limited menu of bagels, bagel sandwiches and snacks.
The franchisor suggested the Michigan/Fuller location.
“It’s a high traffic corner,” Steve says. “The Michigan Street corridor is really starting to pop, and benefit from the healthcare growth has spread outward from the core city and the visibility of our sight lines is great.”
The Antayas’ four Grand Rapids shops employ 50 people. Steve says he and Tom are looking at four more Grand Rapids properties for Biggby shops, but declined to name the locations.
Source: Steve Antaya, Biggby Coffee
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Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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