Seattle Coffee Franchise History

Seattle might be described as the coffee mecca capital of the world. In the early 1970s, there was a revolution in coffee, especially specialty coffee, coming directly from Seattle. In fact, the coffee drinking revolution that we know today may have originally started in Seattle.

Because of this information, Seattle coffee franchises are worthwhile franchises to look into. In this article I will discuss two popular Seattle coffee franchises as well as give you some other information on how to evaluate coffee franchises.

In the early 70s when the coffee craze in Seattle is kicking in, there was a contest in Seattle to see who had the best cup of coffee in the city. At that time, a coffee shop called the wet whisker won the title, thereafter renaming the company "Seattle's best coffee".

After that, around 1995, Seattle's best coffee made a push for aggressive franchising. Their goal was to have 500 retail outlets by the year 2000. Unfortunately, the strategy didn't work out too well. In fact, the company decided to do another strategy and bought back half of the 14 franchises they had already sold.

They decided to take a Starbucks approach and focus on a more company owned model.

Thus, they were no longer appearing to be the dominant leader in Seattle coffee franchises. Then, in 2001 a new leader stepped in – the Seattle Drip Coffee Company. Only this franchise model is different; it is strictly a drive-thru coffee.

In 2005, it was voted Seattle's favorite and was rated in the United States top three espresso beans by Rose Magazine in 2006. The required capital to get started with this Seattle coffee franchise is around $80,000.

Seattle Drip Coffee Company specializes in high quality specialty coffee delivered quickly to the consumer and with their double drive-through delivery method, it is often described as having the smoothest coffee on the road.

Because of their low initial investment cost they have become a very popular franchise opportunity. To invest in this opportunity you have to have a net worth of over $250,000 per location.

You will get grand opening support, site review and approval, and help with the site construction itself due to their turnkey modular building.

In conclusion, consider this at the top of a list of opportunities when it comes to evaluating Seattle coffee franchises. It may well be your best bet in getting a coffee business started.