Ellianos Coffee Company Welcomes First HeroFran Franchisee

By: Ellianos Coffee Company | 18 Shares 849 Reads

Three New Locations are Planned for Tallahassee Florida and Thomasville Georgia

February 05, 2008 // Franchising.com // LAKE CITY, FL – Ellianos Coffee Company welcomes Catherine Tune to the Ellianos Franchise Family, as the first franchisee to be awarded a franchise under the new HeroFran program. Catherine Tune has signed on to develop at least three locations in the Tallahassee, Florida and Thomasville, Georgia areas within the next three years.

"We are thrilled to award our first HeroFran franchise to Catherine Tune who has served the State of Florida Department of Corrections for over 25 years," commented Ellianos Founder and Chairman, Scott Stewart.

The HeroFran Program is designed to give business incentive and recognition to heroes who have committed their lives to the safety of their fellow Americans. A "qualifying hero" is defined as any U.S. military veteran, law enforcement officer, or firefighter who has served four or more years and is separated from service under honorable conditions. The four year service requirement does not apply if a hero was separated for a service-related injury.

The HeroFran Program offers qualifying heroes the choice of two incentive recognition programs: 1) a 50% reduction of the current franchise fees (from $20,000 to $10,000) to open a single Ellianos coffee shop, or 2) even greater incentive recognition of no franchise fees on the first coffee shop, if the hero desires and commits to open 3 or more coffee shops within a five-year period.

"I was attracted to the Ellianos Coffee Company franchise opportunity because I wanted to invest my retirement into my own family based company, so I could leave a future legacy to my children, and have the experience and opportunity to work with them in this business both now and in the future," stated Catherine Tune, on why she chose to become an Ellianos Franchisee.

She also added, "Ellianos is a wonderful fit for us as a family. It's a small franchise and very family oriented. Not only do we really love their coffee and many products, we feel their company is down to earth and believes in giving back to the community."

Catherine A. Tune began her career with the Florida Department of Corrections 27 years ago as a Correctional Officer. Throughout her career, she advanced to the positions of Sergeant, Lieutenant, Major, and finally retiring from Corrections while employed as a Victim Advocate after 25 years of service. In addition to her full time employment with the Department of Corrections, Mrs. Tune also served as an Adjunct Instructor at Lake City Community College and Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy, and also held the position as a Public Safety Officer at Tallahassee Community College for ten years. In April 2001, Mrs. Tune earned her Law Enforcement Certification, while also receiving an award for top academic in her class.

David M. Tune is her husband and will also be the Vice President of Operations for her business. He started his career in Law Enforcement as a Deputy Sheriff with the Hillsborough County Sherriff's Office in 1979. In 1981, he began an eight year career as a Parole Officer, where he moved up to the position of Director of the Work Release Program for the State of Florida Department of Corrections, in which he served for 22 years.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Tune graduated from Florida State University with BS degrees in Criminology. David and Catherine have been friends for over 20 years and are now married for almost a year with five children between them. Her children are Robert, Joshua, and Nicholas Hicks and her stepchildren are Brandon and Kristen Tune.

"The Hero Fran Program was created as an extension of Ellianos' Service +1 Program, where we provide world-class service to our customers, and do one better by giving back to the communities in which we work and live," says Mick Rynning, President of Ellianos Coffee Company.

Mr. Rynning added,"The HeroFran Program is our way of saying thank you to our veterans, law enforcement officers, and firefighters for making America and our communities safe for everyone. But, it's more than just saying, "thank you." It's also our way to help those brave Americans to have a business of their own, as they leave public service and enter the private business sector."

About Ellianos Coffee Company:
Ellianos Coffee Company was founded in Lake City, FL in 2002 by entrepreneur and coffee lover Scott Stewart with the help of his wife Pam and their family. The company has grown to a franchise with 8 locations in North Florida and South Georgia. Ellianos Coffee Company's mission is to thrill customers by swiftly and cheerfully serving premium quality coffee, espresso beverages, smoothies and more at convenient locations. Our mission as a franchisor is to provide the very best systems and support to our franchisees, so that each one has the power to be successful as an Ellianos franchise partner. Ellianos plans a steady growth strategy, and is currently working on adding several more locations within the coming year.