Second Cup: A Successful Canadian Coffee Company

In the last blog, I promised to do a write-up on Second Cup, Canada's largest specialty coffee cafe franchisor. Second Cup got its start in 1975 as a shopping mall kiosk in suburban Toronto. Since that time, the franchise has grown to more than 360 cafes in Canada and over 50 cafes internationally, including the United States, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Syria.

The founders of the company were Tom Culligan and Frank O'Dea. Culligan eventually bought out the shares belonging to O'Dea and built the company up to a 150-store chain. Culligan then sold the chain to Michael Bregman 1988.

As Chairman and CEO, Bregman took Second Cup public in 1993 and in 2002 sold the operation to Cara Operations Limited. On November 16, 2006, Cara sold Second Cup to Dinecorp Hospitality Inc.. Dinecorp is controlled by former Cara CEO Gabe Tsampalieros, who is now Chairman of Second Cup.

Second Cup made the news in 2001, when Rheal Mathieu, a member of the Front de Liberation du Quebec, a terrorist organization seeking Quebec independence, was convicted of firebombing three Second Cup locations in Montreal. Mathieu targeted them because of the company's usage of its incorporated English name "Second Cup." After media coverage of the firebombings, many Second Cup locations in Quebec changed their signs to "Les cafes Second Cup."

After having called the Second Cup toll free telephone line without success (I was asked to leave a message) I telephoned one of the franchises and spoke to an employee there. I was told that Second Cup does not roast its coffee on the premises. In fact, I was informed, the coffee is roasted a full year before it is finally consumed! The roasted coffee beans, I was told, are placed in vacuum-sealed bags and are used within two weeks of having been opened.

There are no Second Cup locations near to where I live, so I have no opportunity to try the coffee at the moment. But given the fact that Second Cup coffee is not freshly roasted, I suspect that the quality of the coffee is no better than what can be found at Starbucks, which is the outlet that I usually visit.