[EXCLUSIVE] Surprising Tenant Taking Former Kennesaw Burger Joint

A new Caribou Coffee is planned for a dynamic location near the campus of Kennesaw State University.  The new coffee shop is slated to replace what was built from scratch and previously operated as a Burger King at 3280 Barrett Lakes Boulevard, just off Chastain Road. (a Citgo gas station operated from the site before the burger chain.)  

Burger King and its Atlanta-based franchise partner GPS Hospitality celebrated the grand opening of the new restaurant August 9, 2016, but quietly closed the restaurant a few weeks ago.  

The new shop will be the first new stand-alone Caribou Coffee in metro Atlanta in more than a decade, perhaps even two decades.  The Minnesota-based chain has in recent years closed more locations than its has opened with notable intown closures including along Roswell Road in Chastain Park, Piedmont Avenue and Monroe Drive in Midtown, North Druid Hills and LaVista Roads in Toco Hills and Northside Parkway and West Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead, among others.  

According to plans reviewed by ToNeTo Atlanta, the new Caribou Coffee will be 2,495 square feet and carry the brand's popular "Chalet" theme and design.  

In 2013, Caribou Coffee was acquired by German private equity firm JAB Holding Company, a multi-billion dollar firm that also owns Panera Bread, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Peet's Coffee, Pret a Manger and Bruegger's Bagels, among other brands.  Plans were announced in 2013 for the Atlanta area locations to be among several dozen the company planned to convert from Caribou to Peet's branding, but that never happened in metro Atlanta.  

JAB opened a co-branded "Coffee & Bagels" unit along LaVista Road in Tucker in 2017 which featured both Einstein Bros. and Caribou offerings, but as they did with their side by side unit near Toco Hills, eventually phased out Caribou from the location and it's now just an Einstein Bros. 

There are currently just six Caribou Coffee locations in metro Atlanta: Peachtree & Piedmont in Buckhead, 10th & Piedmont in Midtown, Peachtree Center and Truist Garden (Bridge Level) Downtown, and a pair of locations at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.  Of the six, only the Buckhead location is freestanding with a drive-thru.  

The opening in Kennesaw is surely strategic in terms of the nearby student population but is also coincidental when you consider it will be near the Michael J. Coles College of Business, named for Great American Cookie Company founder Michael J. Coles, who from 2003 to 2007 was CEO of Caribou Coffee.  

Are you excited for the return of more Caribou Coffee shops to metro Atlanta?  Who do you think offers the best coffee in metro Atlanta? Where else would you like to see Caribou Coffee open?

Please share your thoughts below.