Caribou Coffee starts brewing

Store opening in Coralville

By Christine Rojewski

For the Press-Citizen

Coffee lovers will have yet another choice beginning today — make that early today.

Caribou Coffee opens at 6 a.m. at the Coral Valley East strip mall. The coffee store is between Boston’s The Pizza Gourmet and Bochner Chocolates.

Caribou Coffee, based in Minneapolis, is one of five open in the state. Two other shops in Des Moines also open today.

The company says all of its coffees are made with high quality beans from different countries. The chain does not sell pre-made flavored coffees although it has several flavor shots that can be added into the drinks. The shots are used to help control the intensity of the flavors.

“Along the way, we’ve had a commitment to freshness,” Caribou Coffee manager Christina Dunlap said Thursday. “All of our coffees are on timers, and we throw them out every hour.”

Caribou is committed to customers’ satisfaction, she said.

“It’s what the guests want,” she said. “If they’re not happy with their drink, we throw it out and make them a new one, no questions asked.”

The coffee shop even has a drive-up window for customers’ convenience.

“It enhances guest services,” Dunlap said. “You don’t have to get out of your car at six in the morning and into the freezing weather.”

The environment in Caribou has a very energetic vibe to it, she said, and the music that plays reflects it.

“We train with energy,” Dunlap said. “The environment the customers come into is fun.”

Although the opening of Caribou Coffee brings variety to the area, it also means competition for other local coffee shops.

Tara Cronbaugh, owner of the Java House, said it is good for the locals that look for familiar chain stores.

“The location is good because it is in an area where people look for branding,” she said.

She said she is not concerned about losing customers because the majority of them like independent shops with original products, like the kind she offers.

When the Iowa City Starbucks opened in January 2004, Cronbaugh said she saw an increase in sales at the Java House.

“It’s good for the chains to be around because it gives people something to compare coffees to,” she said.

Dunlap thinks that Caribou Coffee will do well, even with all of the competition in the area.

“People will come in here and have a good experience and they’ll like their products,” she said.