Columbus, Ohio coffee roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea has welcomed its first international 7 Steps coffee shop to the community of independent coffee houses, cafés and bakeries serving Crimson Cup beverages. Columbus Coffee Shop opened May 22 in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
“We’re excited to welcome Columbus Coffee Shop to the Crimson Cup community,” said Founder and President Greg Ubert. “Partners Mohaimin Mostafa, Rehanur Rahman, Mirza Abdul Khaled and Tarek Rafi Bhuiyan have created an inviting space for Dhaka residents to enjoy handcrafted espressos, café mochas, lattes and other handcrafted coffee drinks.”
Several of the partners absorbed American coffee culture while studying in campus coffee houses as foreign exchange students in the U.S. Returning to Bangladesh, they saw an opportunity to capitalize on the growing popularity of American-style coffee in their predominantly tea-drinking country.
Mostafa and Bhuiyan enjoyed Crimson Cup coffee while studying at Ohio State University in Columbus. They reached out for support through Crimson Cup’s 7 Steps to Success coffee franchise alternative program. Based on Ubert’s book, Seven Steps to Success in the Specialty Coffee Industry, the program teaches prospective business owners everything they need to open a coffee shop. Hands-on consulting covers everything from writing a coffee shop business plan and finding the right location to choosing equipment, hiring and training staff, attracting customers and more.
After just 9 months of planning and construction, they were ready to open the first in a series of coffee houses planned in Bangladesh.
Mostafa traveled to the Crimson Cup Brew Lab in Columbus to complete initial training. When Columbus Coffee was ready to open, 7 Steps Trainer Steve Bayless traveled to Dhaka to teach Columbus Coffee managers and staff about drink preparation and other aspects of operating a coffee house.
The May 22 grand opening was a star-studded affair, attended by local celebrities including actor Ananta Jalil, actresses Barsha Afiea, Tisha and Dithi Anowar, singers Arnob, Topu, Tahsan and filmmaker Gazi Mazharul Anwar.
Columbus Coffee Shop offers a wide range of handcrafted hot, iced and frozen espresso drinks as well as hot and iced teas. Sandwiches and fresh-baked goods round out the menu. Customers can also buy bags of Crimson Cup beans to brew at home.
Columbus Coffee Shop is open from 11a.m. until midnight daily on the second floor House # 25, Road # 11, Block H, Banani, Dhaka. The soothing ambiance of the 2,000-square-foot shop entices visitors with hardwood floors, soft lighting and comfortable seating arranged in intimate conversation circles.
The partners plan to open branches of Columbus Coffee Shop in Dhanmondi, Uttara and Mirpur in Dhaka, and in Chittagong, Sylhet and Cox’s Bazar.
