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Dining Out

Indigo perking up to competition

At the "Westchase" store, Starbucks' arrival doesn't worry them. Nor company owners, now planning a sixth store.

By TRACY SMALL
Published December 16, 2005

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - Indigo Coffee almost looks desolate if you drive by in midafternoon.

But arrive at Waters Avenue and Sheldon Road in the early morning and it's a different scene entirely.

Cars line up in the two-lane drive-through and the staff makes a game out of speedy service.

Ask Lauren Brown, the 21-year-old general manager, who wakes up at 4:20 a.m. to start her work day.

She and manager Chris Plummer, 26, take pride in their speedy service. They give themselves one minute to go outside, take an order and present the customer with a cup of coffee or tea and sometimes a danish brought in daily from Kalupa's Bakery.

"We see mostly repeat customers and we develop a relationship with them," said Brown. "If we don't see them for a while, we start to worry."

Brown, who worked at Joffrey's, was drawn to the eye-catching design of Indigo Coffee's blue, 400-square-foot building. They hired her on the spot.

They call this their "Westchase" store, although some might call this Town 'N Country.

They serve 300 cups a day, and barely blinked when Starbucks opened its Town 'N Country store.

"It's a well-respected chain," Plummer said. "But there are so many Starbucks that it almost has a Wal-Mart feel."

What does Starbucks say about Indigo?

"They're obviously doing something right," said assistant manager Kelly Johnston. "And deep down it's all about coffee preference anyway."

If anything, Indigo is following in Starbucks' footsteps, if on a much smaller scale.

Founders Joe Timberlake and Jeff Darrey are about to place their sixth store on the map, in Hyde Park.

"There's an art to brewing coffee and espresso," said Timberlake, 54, who's been in business since 2002. He personally trains his baristas to work the espresso bars. He goes from store to store every day, tasting the product.

They pride themselves in an advanced water filtering system and advertise through word-of-mouth.

"I'm in and I'm out and the coffee is always great," said customer Jackie Logan.

Indigo Coffee is located at 8726 W. Waters Ave. and is open Monday to Friday 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Sundays.

For more information call 813 890-9600 or visit www.indigocoffeeusa.com

[Last modified December 15, 2005, 10:05:12]