WARREN, Ohio – Covelli Enterprises has no set time frame for opening its next local Caribou Coffee store, the franchisee’s CEO said.

Covelli Enterprises, the Panera Bread chain’s largest franchisee, announced it had entered into an agreement in April 2023 to open more than 100 Caribou Coffee locations across the northern half of Ohio, western Pennsylvania and Florida. Both Panera Bread and Caribou Coffee are part of the Panera Breads Group of Luxembourg-based JAB Holding Co.

To date, Covelli Enterprises has opened two Caribou Coffee stores, both in Ohio. The first was in the Glacier Hills Service Plaza on the Ohio Turnpike in fall 2023. The second opened in August in North Canton.

Covelli’s first freestanding Caribou had been planned for the north side of U.S. Route 224 in Canfield, just west of and on the opposite side of the road from the Panera Bread there.

“We’re still looking at different sites,” said Sam Covelli, CEO of Covelli Enterprises.

The proposed Canfield location “didn’t work out” because the inability to turn left onto the heavily traveled route would have prevented it from hitting the desired volume.

“So now we have to find a better piece of property, and we’re looking,” he said.

The search continues for additional local sites, with focuses on Canfield, Boardman and the area near Eastwood Mall in Niles.   

“We do not have a date set in stone for our next location in the Valley. We are continuing to look at real estate and weigh our options” a Covelli Enterprises representative said. The plan was always to be strategic in identifying the best available real estate to position the stores for success.

“We want to pick the right sites, like we did with Panera,” Covelli said. “You don’t want to jump into something. You want to do it the right way.”

In addition, Covelli Enterprises closed its Boardman O’Charley’s restaurant, which opened in 2008, on Saturday. Covelli, which also operates Charley’s restaurants in Niles, Cuyahoga Falls and Erie, Pa., sold the location to an undisclosed buyer.

“It was in the best interest of our company to accept the offer for the real estate,” a Covelli representative said. “This is a prime location in the heart of Boardman with high traffic counts and many other attractive qualities.”

Locally, the Niles restaurant continues to perform well, and there are no further plans to close any of the other O’Charley’s, the representative said.

Pictured at top: The Caribou Coffee store at Glacier Hills Service Plaza.