DeRusha Eats: Coffee, Tea & Bagels At New Caribou-Einstein Store
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Caribou Coffee is trying to jolt sales by going way beyond coffee. In a prime spot in Caribou's hometown downtown, Minneapolis, they've launched a Caribou Coffee & Einstein Bagels store, featuring Argo Tea.
"There's really nothing like this in the market," Jenifer Hagness, senior director of coffee for Caribou, said.
Einstein and Caribou have the same CEO and the same majority owner for a parent company. But this is the first Minnesota spot to include Chicago-based Argo Tea.
"We're excited to bring a tea company in. They care about the growers, care about the quality, just like we do with coffee. We just think it's a perfect match," Hagness said.
Argo has grown quickly over the last decade, they sell traditional loose white, black, and green teas as well as more creative tea-based drinks like Hibiscus Apple Cider, and Mint-jito.
It's a shift from the early days of Caribou, where each shop specialized in coffee alone. Over the years, they've added pastries, then oatmeal and breakfast food, now sandwiches, and now bagels.
"Consumers are busy. They have a lot to get done. The opportunity to get breakfast, lunch snack, in one location is big," Hagness said.
The baristas don't have to learn how to bake bagels. Hagness said they interviewed potential bagel bakers at 2 a.m., because that's when those employees have to get to work.
The new flagship Minneapolis location at 11th Street and Nicollet Mall features a tea and coffee bar. There are plugs for recharging laptops and smartphones, as well as teas on tap. The barista takes the tea concentrate from the tap and then mixes it with still or sparkling water.
Argo Tea also features bubble teas. Ultimately the tea bar will include Caribou's cold-press coffee and a Nitrogen-infused cold press that creates a smoother and creamier drink.
Caribou is also selling a single-origin coffee, all sourced from the same farm. It's something ordinarily you'd only see at so-called "third wave" coffee shops. Many of those shops in the Twin Cities have been started by people who started their own careers working at Caribou.
"We've had relationships with farmers for years. We're really bringing forth that expertise and relationship now. We're bringing these coffees to market differently, talking about them differently, and sampling in store," she said.
By contrast to some of the ultra-specialty coffee shops, Hagness discussed Caribou's market positioning as "playful premium," saying it shoots for high-end quality without being snobby or elitist.
"The idea is you come in, you can be comfortable, be a little quirky, have fun, and still have great food and beverages," Hagness said.
Caribou will open three more coffee and Bagel stores featuring Argo Tea in the Twin Cities in the month of June. A new store will open in the Wells Fargo Tower in downtown Minneapolis, a store in Edina is relocating and opening, as well as a White Bear Lake store which is being remodeled.
