(FranchisePick.com) Coffee Beanery Executive Vice President Kevin Shaw had a secret so deep and dark that his company would stop at nothing to keep it hidden… even if it meant breaking the law.
The son of Coffee Beanery founder and former head of the International Franchise Association Joanne Shaw had been convicted of felony trafficing.
No, Kevin Shaw had not been convicted of drug trafficing.
He was not trafficing in arms, yellowcake uranium nor in non-fair trade Arabica beans.
No, Kevin Shaw had been caught stealing… traffic cones.
That’s right, traffic cones… those bright orange duncecaps of safety that keep schoolbuses of children from …read more

Michigan-based coffee franchise company The Coffee Beanery continues to draw fire, as well as negative publicity from a number of publications and news sources. This time it’s a Forbes story, titled A Cautionary Tale For New Franchisees.
According to the article:
One couple, Deborah Williams and Richard Welshans, sunk $1.6 million into an Annapolis, Md., café they opened back in January 2004. They allege that Coffee Beanery–now with 131 locations in the U.S. and 25 overseas–duped them into buying into a failed business concept. The couple says their store has never turned a profit, and they are now fighting to …read more