This is part of an exclusive online series by Nation's Restaurant News and Chain Store Guide, profiling the restaurant industry's top 10 growth chains. Go to NRN.com's Special Reports page to read more profiles highlighting the industry's fastest-growing players based on five-year unit growth rates.
Saxbys said its vision is to provide patrons with an inviting atmosphere where they can relax, catch up with friends, meet with business colleagues, get some work done outside the office, or read a book.
Saxbys' menu includes a range of coffee and tea drinks, as well as smoothies and a line of blended frozen drinks called Frolattes. The chain's signature coffee drink is the British Islander, which is made with white chocolate, English toffee and macadamia nut syrups.
Although concentrated in the mid-Atlantic region of Delaware, District of Columbia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, there are now Saxbys outposts as far away as Ohio, California, Nevada, and Texas. New locations are opening in Arizona, as well as its existing markets.
The company is also seeking international partners for expansion overseas. In addition to organic growth by franchising, Saxbys acquired the 15 retail locations of Bucks County Coffee in late 2008.
Saxbys filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year, a move that company officials told the Philadelphia Business Journal was a response to several lawsuits from former stakeholders who were protesting the sale of the company to real estate investor Joe Grasso. The company told the paper that it would continue expanding throughout the Chapter 11 process. Click here to read the story.
Saxbys faces competition for coffee sales from some of the nation's biggest restaurant companies. Coffeehouse giant Starbucks returned to positive same-store sales this year after suffering slow sales during the recession. Meanwhile, fast-food chains McDonald's and Burger King have both upgraded their coffee. McDonald's most recently has been advertising its new McCafe Frappe drinks, a frozen coffee beverage similar to Starbucks' popular Frappuccinos or Saxbys' Frolattes.
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