PJs Coffee: On The Go
PJs Coffee plans national expansion for a Number 2 spot in the specialty coffee category.

PJs Coffee’s color scheme uses deep reds, purples and golds that are traditional to its native New Orleans.

Atlanta-based Raving Brands is known for such rapidly growing fast-casual restaurants as Moe’s Southwest Grill, Mama Fu’s Asian House, Planet Smoothie and, the company’s newest concept, Doc Green’s Gourmet Salads. The company bought PJs Coffee in 2002 from Phyllis Jordan, who founded PJs in 1978 in New Orleans. The company is utilizing its experience in franchising, real estate and store design to take PJs Coffee national.

Upon acquiring PJs, Raving Brands immediately started thinking about redesigning the concept, adding a wine bar to complement the coffee brand. The wine bar will remain separate from the coffee offering, discretely tucked away behind a curtain, but a little more pronounced at night with special lighting.

“The coffee bar will always remain in the front,” says Tanya Mareno, franchise sales director for PJs Coffee. “We kept the bold colors — deep reds, purples and golds that are traditional to New Orleans — as well as the dark wood floors. But there was absolutely no change to the core product. We have a phenomenal product in terms of the actual beverages and the coffee itself.”

PJs offers a total of 25 varieties of coffee in whole bean form. Consumers can choose from a dark, medium, decaf or flavored bean, freshly roasted and brewed daily. The store offers a variety of teas as well and has a lunch selection, which includes fresh sandwiches. The wine bar offers a selection of more than 40 red and white wines and champagnes and a selection of ports and dessert wines.

PJs’ first coffee and wine bar opened in February 2004 in Eustis, Florida, and the second location opened recently in Lake Mary, Florida. The company currently has a total of 73 stores, with 41 locations open, and just signed a letter of intent for an additional 17 stores. Primarily located in the Southeast, PJs remains the market leader in New Orleans and has a presence in Florida, Maryland, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and California. The company plans to target Houston next. Locations will then begin popping up along the East Coast and into the Northeast, followed by a push out west in states like California, Nevada and Arizona.

PJs Coffee attracts an upscale customer.

The ideal locations for PJs are high-traffic areas in residential settings as well as business parks or downtown central business districts, with space for a patio and drive-thru. The coffee concept (without the wine bar) requires a minimum of 1,000 square feet and at least 1,500 square feet for a Coffee and Wine Bar. Demographic requirements include a population of 50,000 within a 3-mile radius, a daytime population of 15,000 within a 3-mile radius, a median household income of $50,000 and a median age of 36.

All PJs units are franchised, and at least 90 percent of the franchisees are multi-unit operators, though most of their additional units are currently under construction. Franchise requirements call for $50,000 in liquid assets and a $250,000 net worth. Ideal candidates should have restaurant/retail experience or they should be business owners with at least 2 to 3 years’ experience.

“The coffee franchise is a pretty simple operation, so if you know the general practice of running and owning a business, the rest is easily teachable and learnable,” notes Mareno. “There’s no wait staff or kitchen with grease traps or hooded vents, so it’s not a very complex business.”

PJs Coffee is a unique concept with a gourmet product, says Mareno, but the wine bar itself is probably the biggest perk for landlords, outside of the normal traffic that a coffee café can bring to a shopping center.

“People are looking for a gathering place, and PJs draws traffic,” Mareno says. “It’s very upscale with a cool design, and that’s a major plus in terms of attracting the actual customers, as well as in terms of attracting upscale co-tenants to a shopping center.”

— Susan H. Fishman