Kaldi’s Expansion
Kind of old news but Kaldi’s Coffee is expanding the empire
Here:
Kaldi’s Coffeehouse – Columbia
29 S. Ninth Street
Columbia, MO 65201
Phone: (573) 874-2566
And Here:
Kaldi’s Coffeehouse – Clayton (downtown)
187 Crondelet Plaza
Clayton, MO 63105
Phone: (314) 726-2900
I saw the one being built in Columbia and it was like the other branded chain-like ones.
The reason for continued expansion is that founders Howard Lerner and Suzanne Langlois sold their remaining 50% share of Kaldi’s earlier this year, and the former co-owners-gone-new-owners hope to continue Starbuckifying Kaldi’s successfully towards a current goal of 10 million in sales.
You can read an article in the St. Louis Business Journal here.
I read it a few months ago and forgot to comment, but the thing that struck me is that the article says they notified customers of the change of ownership. Talking to people in other shops around town, I’m under the impression few knew, so I’m curious if any readers might be regulars of a Kaldi’s (specifically the original Clayton location) and can confirm whether that was in fact the case.
Also, it will be interesting to see if Kaldi’s can continue to expand in the way the Zimmer’s hope while continuing to maintain semi-manual semi-automatic espresso machines on site. The green mermaid folded on that dream years ago.
For my take on Kaldi’s in general; that’s definitely for another post. I will tell you, however, that my main peeve with them has always been the issue of freshness with the coffee being sold in their shops. With upwards of thirty varieties on hand at any one time, it’s impossible to move through the coffee fast enough to keep it from staling. Add to that the fact the containers are not even air tight, and it’s a sad, sad tale.
Oh, and I’m not sure how I overlooked this for over a year, but Kaldi’s has a blog which you can read here.
edit: I changed semi-manual to semi-automatic…it was a quick typo on my part
5 Responses to “Kaldi’s Expansion”
I’m not really a coffee drinker, so I can’t speak to the quality of that, but I do like their gooey butter cake (which I believe Eric Bremmer from Moxy developed for them). I think they also have a spicy hot chocolate, which I like very much, but I may have them confused with someone else.
By Dan D. on Nov 27, 2007
As for the gooey butter cake, the original cofounder created the recipe. I know that eric helped with the expansion of the new menu but not bakery.
With the freshness of the coffee, they order on a per 5lb bases. I had this concern and asked about it. The stores have been trained to order as needed. The roasters roast to order. Usually the coffee is roasted the day before it is sent to the stores and then put into the empty coffee jars. All this is documented at their roaster. Because of the expansion the roaster has been able to upgrade their systems to be able to produce better/ higher quality coffee.
The spicy beverage you are referring to is the Aztec.
As for the machines: The newest stores have all semi-automatic La Marzocco’s which is used in the National and World Barista Competition. The equipment is only getting better. Downtown Clayton even has a Clover for the true coffee purist.
They are also able to now offer more rare coffees such as the new FTO Timor and “Cup of Excellence Coffee” from Nicaragua
By Chance on Nov 27, 2007
Chance, you stole my thought. I was going to post about that Clover and was typing it up right now. I’ve been badgering them about it for about a year as I’d spotted their name on the Clover site last year and kept hoping it would show up in the Demun shop. I just found out earlier today that it would be making its debut in the Clayton store.
The La Marzocco’s definitely don’t go unnoticed as well. semi-manual was a typo on my part. The shot of the new one in the COMO store is pretty sweet…and as a barista groupy of sorts, I get excited watching someone man one with skill.
Sadly, skill is sometimes lacking, but as a growing coffee empire Kaldi’s definitely does more about training their staff than most multiple location shops ever dream of.
The Demun location, for instance, is one of the few places where I have watched a barista poor out a shot they were unhappy with — as they rightfully should.
Like I said though…the capp/espresso comments are for another post.
My questions of freshness have nothing to do with espresso as I know for a fact they’re pouring through that roast.
My point is more that even at 5lbs a pop, aside from things like Sumatra or Kenya –more popular roasts– I have a hard time believing they get through five pounds of everything in around a week.
They do brilliantly rotate their drip coffees of the day, however, which I’m hoping/assuming is to ensure they’re moving through as much as possible.
By bb on Nov 27, 2007
There’s a Kaldi’s going into the Schnucks in Kirkwood, too, just across the street from the original BreadCo.
That makes two Kaldi’s in Kirkwood. The patio on the one near the train station is a great gathering places, it’s filled with people on summer mornings since it keeps shade until nearly 11. But the coffee and especially the food are uninspiring.
By Alanna on Dec 1, 2007