Gloria Jean’s Coffees will have its soft opening in Davao City, Philippines today at 2:00PM at Pagcor-Davao (formerly Casino Filipino) located in the Grand Regal Hotel, Lanang, Davao City. They already have branches in Manila and elsewhere but this is the first in Davao. Coffee lovers like me will have something new to try on though it is located inside the casino at the Grand Regal Hotel Davao.

Gloria Jean’s Coffees is a large chain of specialty coffee retailers. It started as a small coffee and gift shop in 1979 in Chicago, USA. In 1996 it spread to Australia. Late 2004, Gloria Jean’s Coffees Australia founders, Nabi Saleh and Peter Irvine, acquired Gloria Jean’s Coffees international master franchise brand and roasting rights for all countries (except the USA and Puerto Rico). The company which oversees Gloria Jean’s Coffees in the United States is Diedrich Coffee.

Specialty Beans Philippines Inc. holds the local master franchise for Gloria Jean’s Coffees and currently has close to 40 stores in Luzon and in the Visayas. With the coffee chain growing continuously in key cities across the country, the company is targeting a total of 50 stores by yearend, doubling the number by 2009. Expanding the network to Mindanao, initially in Cagayan de Oro and Davao, is also being eyed.

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