A new Planet Bean location is set to open next week at the corner of Gordon Street and College Avenue, where renovations are underway.
Planet Bean is a well-known coffee establishment in Guelph and has been around for the past 25 years, known for being fair trade, which means its coffee beans are sourced from growers who have safe working conditions, environmental protection and a sustainable source of income.
Its current locations are on Grange Road, which is also the company's roasting facility. The other is on Wyndham Street in the downtown core, with two branded sites on the University of Guelph campus.
The new store will take over the spot that was most recently home to a Second Cup. The building is owned by the U of G, and which has a previous partnership with Planet Bean.
“It’s at a really busy location,” said Bill Barrett, co-founder of Planet Bean. “What’s really exciting for us is developing a stronger partnership with the University of Guelph.
Planet Bean has a coffee roast called the Gryphon blend and a small portion of the proceeds go to Gryphon women’s athletic scholarships.
“This location, because it’s adjacent to the campus, will give us a really great opportunity to highlight our relationship with food services, our relationship with the Gryphons and the athletics department,” said Barrett.
"We're a worker co-op which means people who work at Planet Bean own the business," he said.
Employees who work there for a period of time can choose to be a member of the co-op and make a small investment. If the business does well they will receive a small return on their investment.
"It's a way for people to own a business they work for and also see a benefit from it's success. It's really win, win," said Barrett. "There's not one boss at Planet Bean there's a whole bunch of them and we all work together to make business grow."
He expects the new location to have 12 to 15 full-time employees once they’re open and have expanded their hours.
The capacity of the coffee shop is 40 people and the limit can be expanded a little with patio seating.
We’re so excited to announce that Planet Bean is opening a new location!🎉 Send us a private message with your guess of where the new location will be, and if you guessed correctly you’ll be entered into a draw to win one of five $25 Planet Bean gift cards🎉Contest closes Monday. pic.twitter.com/cAHYcqmfik
— Planet Bean Coffee (@planetbeancafe) May 16, 2022
