Gloria Jean's Brewing Up Growth in North Carolina

Gloria Jean’s Coffees is bringing its flair for flavor to the vibrant central region of North Carolina, with plans to expand the gourmet coffee house brand in a big way.

The global specialty coffee chain recently inked a franchise agreement to add five stores in the Piedmont Triangle area, including in and around the cities of Morrisville, Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. The deal includes the high-profile addition of Gloria Jean’s Coffees in a new, three-story “state-of-the-art facility” scheduled to open later this year in Morrisville, North Carolina, near Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

The project features an adjacent gas station and convenience store, housing Gloria Jean’s Coffees, and two additional franchised food concepts, along with two floors of 10,000 square feet of office space, notes new-signed franchisee Kishor Kaneria, managing director of Morrisville, North Carolina-based Classic LLC.

“As a franchisee, we are the brand ambassadors for Gloria Jean’s, with an eye-catching location by RDU airport,” Kaneria says. “This location is going to be a part of a state-of-the-art 30,000 square foot building. Because the store will be near the airport, it will be in a prime location, making it easily accessible to the community.”  

Kaneria brings a wealth of experience in franchise operations and multi-unit, multi-brand development to the Gloria Jean’s Coffees chain.  His family-owned, diversified global portfolio includes investments in manufacturing, commercial and residential real estate, and government infrastructure development.  

The company has earned numerous accolades from the government of India and private sector for “hard work, dedication, and distinguished design of our construction projects,” says Kaneria, who visits his family in India twice a year and has lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years.

“We are one strong family of four brothers, following all of the traditions of our culture,” Kaneria says. “Our family has been involved in developing infrastructure, such as roads, buildings, and commercial malls for years and have decided to expand our business to the United States. North Carolina is a growing area with a very good quality of life, at a reasonable cost, and all of these factors make it the perfect place to build our businesses.”

With more than 900 Gloria Jean’s coffee shops worldwide, Kaneria joins a brand family that is brewing up aggressive U.S. growth through franchising. A pioneer and innovator of fresh, flavored coffee, Gloria Jean’s is a proven model, with a high-value, high-quality focus that is the perfect franchise fit, says Kaneria.

“My passion is to provide the greatest customer service with quality products, and my business philosophy is that the customer is always right,” he says. “My philosophy is to treat each customer in such a way that they form a strong, long-term connection with the franchise.”

Kaneria, who is proactively scouting sites to expand in the Research Triangle Park area, intends to have a lasting franchise partnership with his new brand. He says strong franchisor support and encouragement with site selection and initial design has been there from the start.  

“Even though we have been in the franchise business for years, we have never been as excited and encouraged as we are with all of the Gloria Jean’s support that we have received,” remarks Kaneria. “We are looking forward to having a bright future with Gloria Jean’s Coffees, with a lot more GJ development, in not only the Research Triangle Park area, but also at the national and international levels.”

Gloria Jean’s Coffees is expanding nationally with new store openings taking place in Pittsburg, Gurnee Mills Mall, Illinois, and Staten Island Mall, New York in the second quarter of 2018. Additional stores will open soon after in Northwest Indiana, Fort Collins, Colorado, and Pharr, Texas.

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