Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to set up shop on Austin’s Drag
The local franchisees for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf are brewing up a new store at a high-profile location in Austin.
Bill Duffy, chief operating officer for Lone Star Bean, says The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will occupy about 1,200 square feet in the iconic former Tower Records space at 24th and Guadalupe streets near the University of Texas campus.
The Tower Records store closed in 2004; the most recent tenant, Follett’s Intellectual Property, shut down in 2009.
“The corner of 24th and Guadalupe is in the heart of The Drag, which is always a vibrant and bustling environment,” Duffy tells AustInnovation.
Duffy says the coffee and tea shop is scheduled to open in September or October.
“The location is attractive, as we are gathering a strong following with UT students and faculty,” Duffy says. “This will help us to solidify our brand in this university-rich market and help feed steady expansion through the state.”
Other tenants confirmed for the former Tower Records store are Qdoba and My Fit Foods, according to Duffy.
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf shop at 24th and Guadalupe will have 12 to 14 part-time and full-time employees, Duffy says.
Lone Star Bean already has Austin stores at 221 S. Lamar Blvd., 38th Street and Lamar, 41st and Red River streets and the second phase of The Domain, as well as a kiosk at The Dell Diamond in Round Rock. Baseball entrepreneurs Nolan, Reid and Reese Ryan are among the owners of Lone Star Bean.
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