Baltimore Coffee and Tea Co. expanding to three suburban locations
Baltimore Business Journal | November 21, 2017 | Melody Simmons
Baltimore Coffee and Tea Co. is expanding to three suburban locations early next year — far off the Starbucks path.
The Timonium-based company will open new stores in Harford, Howard and Anne Arundel counties, all in ongoing developments by St. John Properties, the company said Monday.
“We choose not to compete head-to-head with the recognized national coffee franchises,” said Norm Loverde, a vice president at Baltimore Coffee and Tea. “We roast our coffee locally in small batches using equipment custom made for us in Paris, France, creating a taste that is extremely distinct and a product as fresh as consumers can buy.”
Loverde said the new stores will serve java and tea as well as a breakfast and lunch menu.
They will be located at Aberdeen Proving Ground’s 416-acre Government and Technology Enterprise, or GATE, development in Harford County; the I-97 Business Park in Anne Arundel County at 231 Najoles Rd. in a 125,000-square-foot Class A office building and in the retail area of Annapolis Junction Town Center, a mixed-use project with 416 apartment units and 100,000 square feet of office space in Annapolis Junction.
The expansion will be the 10th sites for the company that also has locations in Baltimore and Frederick and Baltimore counties. Baltimore Coffee and Tea serves 120 varieties of coffee and includes specialty teas under the Eastern Shore Tea Company brand. The company has an express counter at Under Armour’s corporate office in Locust Point.
Loverde said the company decided to expand again once it looked at “existing demographics” in the area.
“As an entrepreneurial-driven, hard-working local company ourselves, we value these same traits in Baltimore Coffee and Tea Company and believe this ethic translates to long-term success,” said Richard Williamson, senior vice president at St. John Properties, in a statement.