A Kettering couple will be bringing Biggby Coffee, a privately-owned franchise based in East Lansing, Michigan, to the Dayton area.
For Jeff and Laynae Meyer, the local franchise owners, Dayton is home – they were born here, went to school here and have raised a family here. They met and started a relationship at Wright State University.
The couple lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan for about nine years, where they fell in love with Biggby Coffee. “We love the culture and ownership of Biggby,” Jeff said. The franchise offers a family atmosphere and, “consistent quality at a great price,” he said.
The couple then moved back to Dayton to be closer to friends and family, Laynae Meyer said. Upon returning, the couple said to themselves, “We want to bring a shop like that back to Dayton,” Jeff said.
Biggby Coffee was founded in 1995 by Bob Fish and Mary Roszel under the name “Beaner’s.” In recent years, the franchise has spread to locations along the highway I-75, including Sydney, Toledo, Piqua, Saint Mary, Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
The couple is ecstatic to bring Biggby to the Dayton area. “We feel great about it,” Jeff said. “We’re so excited that the downtown Dayton area is thriving,” Laynae said.
Jeff and Laynae have signed a lease for their first store near The Flats at South Park apartments in downtown Dayton. It is set to open in March 2019, Jeff said.
They plan to open four to five shops over the next three years. Their objective is to open one every eight months. “As soon as we get this one going, we’ll start identifying additional locations,” he said. They are open to multiple places, including Kettering, surrounding cities and in Fairborn near Wright State.
Jeff and Laynae say they have enjoyed being business partners. “We kept looking at each other and going ‘how can we spend more time together?’” Jeff said. “Why just build a family together, but build a business together [too]?”
