Six years after launching Red Owl Coffee in south Georgia, the Valdosta, Georgia owners of the growing business are expanding to Chattanooga with plans for not only more coffee outlets but ultimately to relocate its headquarters and at least some of its roasting facilities to the Scenic City.
“We love the outdoors and Chattanooga is well located for our business to grow,” Will Paulo, the CEO of Red Owl Coffee, said during an interview last week at his adopted hometown. “I’ve studied Chattanooga for a couple of years and moved here five months ago and I’m excited about the possibilities here.”
Paulo and his business partner, Jon Chancy, bought a former Einstein Bros. Bagels storefront on East Brainerd Road in April and are now renovating the 2,237-square-foot drive-thru restaurant as the first of at least four Red Owl Coffee outlets the pair plan to open in Chattanooga and Cleveland area over the next two to three years.
The first shop at 7737 East Brainerd Road should open in October and Paulo said he is scouting sites now for possible outlets in Hixson, East Ridge, Cleveland and Soddy-Daisy.