The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, the iconic Southern California global roaster and retailer of premium coffee and tea, announced today that it has signed a multi-unit development agreement with local entrepreneur Kat Williams to bring 10 locations to New Mexico. This new deal comes as the brand is actively ramping up its franchise growth efforts in select markets across North America.
“I’ve been eyeing the opportunity to introduce The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to New Mexico for quite some time now – 11 years to be exact! It’s an utterly unique concept, offering one of the most extensive selections of coffee and tea from around the world. There’s simply nothing like it in the market,” says Williams, a dedicated member of the Los Lunas community. “Being the first fully female-owned franchise business with The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf holds profound significance for me. As a single mom and entrepreneur, I hope that my journey shows other women that they can go into business for themselves, but not by themselves. I’m beyond thrilled to kickstart the process of developing my first location, knowing that the people of New Mexico are just as excited to experience The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf as I am to introduce it.”
Williams brings more than 25 years of business ownership experience to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, successfully owning and operating two insurance agencies in New Mexico. Her proficiency in financial management, customer service excellence, operational efficiency and team leadership will seamlessly translate to her new business venture with the brand, ensuring streamlined operations, exceptional guest experiences and strategic growth as she opens multiple locations across the state. With deep familial roots in New Mexico dating back to the 1800s, Williams is actively involved in her community of Los Lunas and sponsors a scholarship for high school students every year in her grandmother’s honor at her alma mater, Springer High School. She plans to continue this tradition by offering a secondary scholarship under The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf flag.
“Kat has a proven track record of operating multiple successful businesses. Coupled with her comprehensive skill set and passion for both the brand and our high-quality products, her background positions her as an outstanding match for franchise ownership with The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf,” says Michelle Reap, Senior Manager of Franchise Development for the brand. “We’re confident that her leadership and operational expertise will easily translate to running cafés across New Mexico, delivering top-notch customer service and serving our delicious coffees and teas to the local communities.”
Currently serving its meticulously hand-crafted coffee, tea and espresso beverages at more than 1,100 locations globally, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf takes pride in delivering guests the highest quality products. The brand sources from the top one percent of the finest grades of Arabica coffee from specially selected estates around the world and the freshest leaves from the top five percent of the world’s tea and botanicals. Its coffee beans are custom roasted, in small batches, at its roasting facility in Camarillo, California, and the brand further ensures excellence by rigorously testing each bag to meet their high-quality standards.
In addition to bringing premium coffee and tea to new communities, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is focused on introducing its scalable franchise opportunity to qualified franchise investors across North America. The brand plans to significantly increase its franchise development pipeline through fresh franchise deals with successful, multi-unit investors. With significant interest globally in franchising with the brand, multiple new locations are in various stages of development throughout the United States, South America, the Middle East and Asia.
Ideal franchisee candidates who are looking to diversify their portfolio with a globally recognized leader in the specialty coffee and tea beverage segment should have strong liquidity and enough access to capital to expand quickly. Previous restaurant ownership experience and a minimum development store count for a pre-determined market are required, but single-store franchise agreements are available for non-traditional venues.
