Brian Helfrich's plan for expansion takes Summit Coffee Co. back to basics.
Summit, founded by Helfrich in 1998, currently has three locations --- two in Davidson, including one on the Davidson College campus, and one in Asheville. It also roasts its own organic coffee beans in Cornelius.
He said the business was able to withstand Covid's economic impacts, and the company is now positioned for continued, long-term growth, starting with the opening of two new locations --- Charlotte's NoDa neighborhood and a second cafe in Asheville.
"We are starting to focus more on urban, higher density areas for stores, walkability and access to nearby neighborhood traffic being the driving reason," he said. "I think it’s important for us, as we try to expand, to get exposure to a broader group of people."
In late Spring, Summit opened a temporary drive-thru cafe in an old Davidson bank building, a pivot he said kept the company's head above water. Helfrich said the team had to focus on what they did best in order to keep revenue flowing and workers employed.
"The drive-thru, in addition to providing some emergency revenue generation and also keeping all of our people employed, taught us a lot of things about our business," he said. "We can still be a brand people admire and want to work with without having a 2,000 square-foot cafe where people can gather."
Helfrich said his team began thinking about ways to diversify the brand without adding new products.
"What we found was we really should lean into our core products and how we can serve them in new ways, rather than, 'How can we serve our core people new things?'" he said.
The Charlotte and Asheville cafes are slated to open in October, and by the end of 2021, Helfrich said he plans to have 15 total Summit Coffee storefronts opened in North and South Carolina.
By 2025, Helfrich said he plans to have 65 total operational cafes.
"It’s certainly an aggressive prospect, but we’re prepared to do it, and for better or for worse this downturn in the economy will cause companies to go out of business, and there will be a lot of real estate opportunities for companies that can afford to be playing those games," he said. "Our expansion model is rooted in clustering stores rather than building out regionally, so we'll be looking for markets we think are underserved and sort of dig our heels in."
The major expansion isn't the only thing Summit is working on, however. Helfrich said they're finally ready to incorporate tech into the brand.
Summit's mobile ordering app will launch toward the end of August, a move the team was intentional about.
"We’ve talked about an app and mobile ordering for years, and it seemed foreign, one of those things that wasn't high on the priority list," he said. "But as we continue to move into areas where we’re trying to do more to-go business and target more Millennials and Gen Zers, it was something we needed."
The app is free to download and will give users the ability to order ahead for pickup. Helfrich said the platform will also include a "robust and creative" loyalty program.
