Michigan-based coffee company brings signature lattes, 'Bragels' and more to Jacksonville
A Michigan-based coffee company known for its specialty lattes, "Bragels," iced teas and fun, family-friendly ambiance has opened its first Northeast Florida location in Jacksonville.
Biggby Coffee held its grand opening Tuesday at 8587 Beach Blvd., No. 1107, near the Rowe's IGA Supermarket-anchored Gates of the Promenade shopping center, which also includes Balkan Cafe as well as Planet Fitness.
The coffee company based in East Lansing, Mich., offers a selection of specialty coffee and tea, including lattes, smoothies, energy drinks and limited-time-only seasonal beverages.
"Bragels," which are bagel breakfast sandwiches, muffins and limited-time-offer baked goods also are on the menu.
From husband-and-wife franchise co-owners Kevin and Natalie Clark, the Jacksonville coffee shop is among five Biggby locations either open or coming soon in Florida, the coffee chain's website shows.
The 18-seat coffee shop featuring a drive-thru is more than just a business venture to the couple, who both have backgrounds in the finance industry: it's an opportunity to create a family-friendly, community gathering place as well as help people with disabilities develop their full potential, the Clarks told the Times-Union.
They are working with Pine Castle, a Jacksonville nonprofit that serves adults with intellectual differences. The coffee shop currently has one employee with disabilities, they said.
"This is really more near and dear to my heart because my older brother is legally blind. So, I always want people to feel like they can come in and just be themselves and we'll take the time to work with them however we need to," Natalie Clark said of the goal to help ensure "they have accessible job opportunities in an environment that supports and uplifts them along the way."
Kevin Clark said they also want to create an environment where all the employees are "genuinely happy to come to work … because if you really think about it, they're the ones really running the business. They are the face of the business."
On the menu at Biggby Coffee
Clark said the shop's "huge variety" of coffee and tea drinks as well as the food makes Biggby stand out from other coffee shops, which are springing up throughout Jacksonville.
"We're also trying to be a non-pretentious, kind of fun coffee shop," he said. "But saying that, we take our coffee very seriously."
He noted that Biggby Coffee aims to be 100 percent "farm-direct" by 2028 in sourcing their coffee. Right now the company is at about 55 percent, said Clark, noting the company's commitment to community and sustainability appealed to them.
"My passion is the farm. The fact that they take care of the farmers …. I want good coffee but I also want it to go beyond my door. I want the community. I want to help our local community but I also don't want something happening behind the scenes that I'm not aware of, and that's why I bought into Biggby as well," Natalie Clark said of the company's principles and philosophy.
The Caramel Marvel latte currently is the coffee shop's most popular drink. All of their lattes can be ordered hot, iced or frozen, which makes them unique among their competitors, Clark said.
Biggby's other signature lattes include:
Black Bear: With chocolate, caramel and butterscotch
Desert Paradise: With caramel, white chocolate and cinnamon
Cinnabuzz: With marshmallow and cinnamon
Mocha Mocha: With chocolate
Firefly: With cinnamon, vanilla and white chocolate
The coffee drinks including the energy drinks range generally from $3 to about $6 each depending on the ingredients and size ordered, he said.
Biggby's energy drinks — "Biggby Blast" — include Scuba, with blue raspberry and strawberry popping boba; Electric Dragon, with dragonfruit and lemon; Blood Moon, with mango and blood orange; and Green Lagoon, with green apple, the company website shows.
Current holiday beverages include Peppermint Stick Mocha Latte, featuring crushed peppermint candy, Mocha Mocha Sauce and mint; and Spiced Cran-Orange Iced Tea and Crimson Biggby Blast, featuring cran-orange spice, according to the menu.
Clark said the Bragels are bagels brought in from New York and then stuffed with a choice of sausage, egg, cheese, ham, bacon or turkey.
First-time entrepreneurs
Although Biggby is their first franchise, the Clarks are no strangers to the brand or restaurant business.
Clark grew up in Michigan where Biggby was his favorite coffee. Natalie Clark traces her roots in the restaurant business to 1969 when her grandfather opened the first of several of their family-owned doughnut shops in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
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He spent 25 years working in the mortgage banking industry. Natalie Clark has been in the finance industry for 13 years and currently is in risk management.
"We both wanted to do something different outside of the corporate life so we kind of married those two things together," Clark said of their decision to become Biggby franchisees.
The Clarks said their focus is on the Beach Boulevard location but ultimately the dream would be to have additional shops throughout Jacksonville.
Biggby Coffee is open from 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Teresa Stepzinski is the dining reporter for the Times-Union. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @TeresaStepz or reach her via email at tstepzinski@jacksonville.com.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Biggby Coffee debuts in Jacksonville at Beach Blvd. shop
