Comments on: The Coffee Beanery Franchise Woes Reported in Forbes Article

By: Sad Customer

Sad Customer — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:14:36 +0000

I am a sad and sorry customer.

The Coffee Beanery in Boynton Beach, FL closed last week. Such a lovely owner who was forced to work seven days a week since opening last June. The costs were too high, the footfall too low and the economy didn’t help. Whatever the reasons, another failure and another expensive and heart rending story to be added.

By: Ex

Ex — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:30:23 +0000

Another CB Cafe has closed
Williamsburg Va
We lost all of our savings and retirement STAY AWAY

By: carol cross

carol cross — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:00:54 +0000

Good for you, Otis!

Apparently, all the “honesty and knowledgeability” of CB didn’t induce you to buy a franchise from them because they wouldn’t disclose any of the advantages of the system to you.

Did they make an an “earnings claim” to you? How did you know that their concept was not a “winner”?

Would you agree that the government mandated disclosure document that accompanies a boilerplate non-negotiable long-term contract acts to subsidize the franchise industry? —while hiding the risk of the investment from the prospective buyer of the franchise?

By: Marylou Wright

Marylou Wright — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:56:23 +0000

Wanted to let everyone know that another Coffee Beanery has closed. OURS, in the Park Plaza Mall, Little Rock, Arkansas. We were let out of our lease because the store next to us was vacant and a new tenant wanted both stores, which was a godsend to us. I can’t tell you how much money from our pockets that we dumped into that store. I contacted Kurt at the Beanery and told him that we were closing. I have had no further contact with these people. There is only one Beanery left in Arkansas at this point. When I originally spoke to JoAnn Shaw, approximately 3 months before I closed, she advised me that I could not close. I felt like I had talked to a brick wall after about a 15 minute conversation with her. It was pathetic.
As far as the sale of the Beanery is concerned, my word is that the sale fell through. Maybe some of you folks know a bit more about what is going on. I go on their website once in a while to see how many Beanerys are left. I think they are down to somewhere around 81 now. When we purchased our store 3-1/2 years ago, there was about 200+.

By: Otis Jones

Otis Jones — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:09:15 +0000

I met with the Shaw’s back in the late 1990’s to buy a couple of franchise operations. I found them extremely knowledgable and honest. I didn’t buy from them simply because I had been in the coffee business for longer than they had and understood the “game.”
I joined a team of investors that purchased a Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Farm, opened a Coffee Plant in the Virgin Islands and Beans, Bytes and Websites Internet Cafe in St.Thomas. It’s not only several times more profitable, since we own the farms and factory, but it’s also a lot warmer in the Virgin Islands. I tried to discuss these advantages with the Shaw’s but never got anywhere.

By: carol cross

carol cross — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:42:12 +0000

First owners of franchises are very often first owners who have NO experience operating a small business, and this is why they select a franchise. The franchise is falsely represented often as a proven plan, a proven turn-key operation, that presents little risk. This, of course, is why franchising is so attractive to those looking for a job and income.

If franchisors had to disclose the material risk factor of the actual unit performance statistics of their systems, many prospective buyers of franchises would not buy franchises that demonstrated a high risk of failure or lack of profitability for the franchisees.

Obviously, this is why the FTC Rule doesn’t require disclosure of this material information by the Franchisor and offers up the confusing Artifice of Item 20 upon which new and inexperienced franchise prospects are supposed to do their due diligence.

By: gk2mom

gk2mom — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:54:11 +0000

Had any of these people had previous experience owning a business? Did they talk to and/or visit stores/current owners on their own? Not just corporate? Were they prepared to invest their (and many times their families) free time to make the company successful? As all small business owners must. Did they notice all of the coffee shops opening on every corner and realize that this was their competition? hmm….

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