by KYW's Steve Tawa
A Philadelphia-area entrepreneur says a new coffee shop chain he has just purchased.
Saxby's will be showing up all over the area, and he's brewed up a plan to take it national.
Joe Grasso of Walnut Street Capital, who has moved Saxby's headquarters to the Curtis Center along Independence Mall, feels there is room for the company to grow to second place, behind a dominant Starbucks, which has more than 10,000 locations:
"Our biggest challenge is to handle the growth properly."
A Saxby's will open next week in Wayne, and there will be close to 60 in the Philadelphia-area by the first quarter of next year, according to Grasso:
"We're growing at a pace of one a week. That should increase over the next five to six months."
The five to seven-year plan is 150 stores in these parts, and 750 across the nation:
"There's nothing wrong with Starbucks. People look for an alternative. This is a much smoother, different type of coffee."
Grasso says they'll be training managers and potential franchise owners at their Center City headquarters.
For moe info, check out www.saxbyscoffee.com.
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