Caribou Coffee, a national premium coffeehouse and Panera Brands company, has announced the signing of several multi-unit development agreements to franchise more than 300 new locations domestically.

Among the agreements:

  • In March 2022, Caribou Coffee announced the signing of its first multi-unit development agreement with Mike Mariola Restaurants to franchise locations in Ohio. Mike Mariola and his team opened their first Caribou Coffee location on November 17, 2022, in Wooster, Ohio. Mariola plans to develop 60 more locations in the Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati markets.
  • Caribou Coffee also executed a multi-unit development agreement with Wake Up 727 to franchise locations in Pinellas County Florida, most known for the cities of St. Petersburg and Clearwater. Wake Up 727, under the leadership of Michelle Mathis, recently expanded their agreement to develop 35 locations with Mathis’ first location opening this fall.
  • Paul Saber and Patrick Rogers will bring the brand back to Michigan as Manna Development Group plans to develop over 50 Caribou Coffee locations across Michigan.
  • Mike Hamra and Hamra Enterprises signed a multi-unit agreement to open 24 Caribou Coffee locations throughout Missouri including the St. Louis, Springfield and Kansas City markets.
  • Most recently, Caribou Coffee entered into multi-unit development agreements with Kevin Ricci and Sam Covelli, the brand’s largest domestic franchise agreements to date.
    • Kevin Ricci, owner of Covelli Family Limited Partnership, will open 60 Caribou Coffee locations in Florida including Gainesville and along the west coast of the state from Tampa to Naples.
    • Sam Covelli, chief executive officer of Covelli Enterprises and the largest franchisee of Panera Bread, has plans to open 100 Caribou Coffee locations with his three children Albert, Candace and Danielle across the northern half of Ohio, western Pennsylvania and Florida, including Orlando, and along the east coast of the state from West Palm Beach to Miami.

“Over the past 30 years, Caribou Coffee has refined and elevated the guest experience through an unwavering commitment to quality, as well as strategic investments in innovation,” says John Butcher, president and chief executive officer of Caribou Coffee. “With a shared vision and commitment to Caribou’s core values, we’re thrilled to be further expanding our footprint nationwide alongside such experienced and passionate operators, and we look forward to supporting their success.”