Caribou Coffee announced this week a major milestone in the company’s ongoing expansion, with the planned addition of up to eight new coffeehouses in Georgia. The new locations, which mark renewed investment in the state, are being added to meet both consumer demand for Caribou’s premium handcrafted beverages, made with real ingredients, and delicious food offerings, as well as in response to interest from developers, partners and local communities.
“We grow our footprint of coffeehouses and drive-thrus with two smart, strategic considerations. First, for the benefit to the local community and then the business opportunity for our brand,” said Matthew Walls, Chief Development Officer, Caribou Coffee. “Georgia offers a great deal of both. Our nine current locations across Georgia continue to outperform and guests love the Caribou brand. These new locations will start opening by spring with the potential of more to come.”
Caribou Coffee first opened in Georgia in 1995. The new locations in development in the Atlanta metro area include Griffin, Athens, Woodstock, Smyrna, Lawrenceville, Snellville, Augusta and Covington, Georgia. The move follows fast on the heels of four store openings in the state in 2024 and are part of Caribou’s growth in the southeastern region of the United States. Currently Caribou, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., operates coffeehouses and drive-thru locations in Atlanta, Cumming, Kennesaw and Milton, Georgia. In recent years, the company has invested strategically throughout the southeast, opening in states that have not seen new locations in more than a decade. Development in 2024 included four new stores in neighboring North Carolina and two in Florida.
Work began in February on construction of the first of the coffeehouse locations with all opening by summer 2025. Each follows Caribou’s strict design, build and operating standards designed to create minimal disruption to the local community or environmental impact from the selection of building materials to the process of construction and operations once open. Wherever possible, Caribou Coffee stores re-use and remodel existing commercial spaces as part of a commitment to build and grow responsibly.
“Growth isn’t just about more stores in more places,” adds Walls. “Our criteria includes the positive impact we can make on a community, offering places for friends, families and coworkers to gather. We also ask are we able to create jobs and contribute to the local economy. And as ever, we try, wherever possible to open where guests, developers and business owners ask us to be.”
