It’s official! February 26, 2008
DAILY GRIND ANNOUNCES EXPANSION INTO FLORIDA WITH NEW FRANCHISE IN DOWNTOWN ORLANDO
ORLANDO, Fla. (Feb. 12, 2008) – The Daily Grind Coffee House and Café, Orlando’s newest coffee house, will open at the end of February in downtown Orlando at 807 North Orange Avenue.
Winchester, Va.-based Daily Grind is known for its relaxing neighborhood atmosphere where a wide range of signature and specialty beverages and fresh food products are offered for casual in-store dining, carry out or catering services.
Larry and Elayne Merla own the new downtown Orlando store. Larry Merla worked for over 25 years for the world’s largest coffee company, living the corporate life and relocating every few years. After checking out several franchise opportunities and deciding where they wanted to finish their careers, the Merlas decided to move back to Florida where they lived in the early 1990’s and open The Daily Grind.
“I was impressed with the exceptional quality of the coffee and the depth of knowledge at the Daily Grind roasters,” said Merla. “The owners and operators of the roasting plant come from second generation coffee trading backgrounds in Kenya and the United Kingdom. The roast master at the plant also has a wealth of tasting experience and has been the roast master for more than a decade.”
The Merlas chose the Daily Grind franchise because of the high quality of their products and the company’s focus on the community. The Daily Grind will bake croissants and other pastries daily, and prepare fresh sandwiches at lunch for downtown’s bustling business community. The coffee house will also feature 12 flavors of fresh, locally made gelato from Trio Gelato of College Park (http://www.triogelato.com). “While living in Europe, we fell in love with the gelato. To our surprise, we found the same artisan made product here in Orlando. Trio’s Gelato is as good as any we had while in Europe,” said Elayne.
The new Daily Grind Coffee House will feature live music in the evenings and offer catering to local neighborhoods and downtown businesses.
“Because of my career in the industry, I became a fanatic for good coffee. Unfortunately, I was always in the supply and manufacturing arena, not in retail,” said Larry. “I am looking forward to sharing my passion and knowledge of coffee with the people of Orlando.”
ABOUT THE DAILY GRIND:
Originally established in 1995, Daily Grind provides a wide range of specialty and signature beverage and food products for casual in store dining, carry out, or catering services. Key to Daily Grind’s success is its “fresh edge”—the franchise roasts its own premium Arabica coffee beans to ensure the freshest coffee products possible and provides a wide range of alternative beverages such as Chai tea lattes, smoothies, Italian sodas, and more. Daily Grind also prepares fresh menu items and pastry products throughout the day to please the most discriminating palates. More information about Daily Grind’s locations, product offerings and franchise opportunities is available on www.dailygrindunwind.com or by calling 877-855-6828.
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I am going to speak earnestly: I had the pleasure of visiting the shop last weekend during their first employee training session, and I honestly have nothing but praise for this place:
-their coffee is amazing (I am seriously picky when it comes to coffee - can’t stand Starbucks - and I was so thrilled to discover a coffee shop I’d actually want to drink coffee in!)
-their pastries are absolutely to-die-for (croissants that are just as good as the ones you pick up in a fancy cafe in Europe, apple and berry pastries, ‘oh-my-goodness cinnamon buns’, and gobs more — all baked fresh on premises.)
-incredible sandwiches (turkey, granny smith, and brie on freshly baked baguette and toasted to perfection, anyone? good grief!)
-and, of course I must mention, a beautiful gelato display case prominently featured in their warm, homey, and beautifully-furnished shop. (pictures coming soon.)
I’m not just recommending The Daily Grind because they’re our very first official retail location and we want everyone to go and enjoy our gelato there (though of course, it is, and I do). Or because the owners Larry & Elayne are amazing, interesting, smart people and I would love to see them succeed hugely with their endeavor (though they are, and I would).
Nope: I really and truly believe that this place will be a beacon of comfort and deliciousness in the cloudy haze of mediocre coffee and snack outlets. This chain is growing fast, and — I believe — has the potential to give the Starbucks-pre-packaged-megachain a run for its billions of moneys, which could only make our world a little better.
It’s certainly looking to Florida to grow its operations, and the hope is that they’ll stick with our gelato as they expand across the state.
Worst case: you can stop by the Daily Grind this week and actually sit down in a real shop with a cup of Trio’s gelato and a warm mug of coffee. About time, isn’t it?