Two NEW LOCATIONS Opening VERY, VERY SOON!

Waiting is hard. But as they say (whoever "they" is), good things come to those who wait. Even greater things come to those who work while they wait. ("They" didn't say that... we did.) The LASATERS® family has been hard at work for the last few months. If you haven't heard, there will be two brand-new LASATERS® locations opening very soon! One location will be in Clarksville, Tennessee, in the Tiny Town area at Exit 1. Our other location will be in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. We're anticipating to open the doors of both cafés for business at the end of November! Excitement!

Make sure to mark your calendars when we make our official, official announcement. Opening day at both locations will be one of grand and caffeinated (or decaffeinated) proportions! Certain drinks will be free (in-café only) while supplies last. The entire tasty LASATERS® menu will also be available. So bring the family, church group, neighborhood, or random person you met last Tuesday and come support your LASATERS®! Be prepared to leave with a few additions to your friends list because here at LASATERS®, our hope is that "those who enter as guests, leave as friends." We can't wait to see you at one of our new locations.

Feel free to follow the progress of our Exit 1 and Mt. Juliet locations on Facebook! There are pictures! And don't forget that ALL of our locations have their very own Facebook pages. Please like and follow each one to stay on top of store giveaways, special deals, and more! Links are below.
LASATERS® - Sango
LASATERS® - Riverside
LASATERS® - Wilma
LASATERS® - Gateway
LASATERS® - Cleveland

SOCIALIZE with LASATERS®!!!
Find us on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram!
Until next time.
<>< Kt Grace
Multimedia Manager | LASATERS® Coffee, LLC

OUR BLOG IS BACK! CHECK OUT OUR NEW MUGS!

Hello, hello! Welcome back to the blog, y'all!
THE BLOG IS BACK! Here you'll find EVERYTHING you need to know about LASATERS®. And there's a lot to know! Whether we're adding new and tasty treats to our menu or opening a new franchise, you'll be the first to know. After all, without you, our supporters, we don't have much. YOU ARE LASATERS®. We are also excited to announce that in the future we will have guest contributors to this blog. It's all about staying connected and sharing our thoughts. So, check back with us periodically and let's do this!

NEW MUGS! NEW MUGS! Did you hear we have NEW MUGS?!
In addition to the many beautiful mugs already on our shelves, we have FOUR NEW ceramic mugs handcrafted by Sunset Hill Stoneware. MADE IN THE USA, Y'ALL! Check out the photo below for a little preview. Visit your local LASATERS® for pricing. These would make wonderful gifts, don't you think?

Don't forget to GET SOCIAL with LASATERS®!!!
Find us on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram!
Thanks for taking a gander, everyone! Until next time.
<>< Kt Grace
LASATERS® Multimedia Manager

Have you heard the news?! 

There's going to be a new LASATERS® Coffee & Tea Drive-Thru/Cafe in Cleveland Tennessee!

Check out the development where it's being built here.

From the developer's website:

Lasaters Corporation has approved another LASATERS® Coffee & Tea franchised location to be opened in Cleveland, Tennessee in the new Spring Creek Development, 25th Street/Apd 40.

Local franchisee HAZ llc., operated by Zack & Heather Gates of Cleveland, will be opening their second location around September 2012. Currently, the Gates own and operate a coffee kiosk inside the Cleveland Bradley Public Library in downtown Cleveland, which opened in the Fall of 2011.

The new Spring Creek location is a stand-alone location featuring a full cafe with a drive-thru, an outdoor seating area and a comfortable lounge interior with a fireplace setting.  Free wireless internet will also be available.   Al Shumaker is general contractor of the new coffeehouse, with Doug Caywood of Downtown Design Studios as architect.
Stan and Brenda Lawson, Spring Creek Developers, welcomed the Gates and the Lasaters group to Spring Creek, which is this area’s first lifestyle neighborhood. The 90+ acre site includes 10 acres of retail, an 8 acre business park, and over 46 acres of residential. Across the street, The Retreat at Spring Creek features a 199 unit luxury gated apartment community with 120 more units now under construction.

Lawson said the “lifestyle concept is new to this area, but it is fast becoming a popular concept where people can actually live, work, dine, shop and enjoy the outdoors all in their own neighborhood.” Begun in 2007, Spring Creek now houses an 18,000 square foot Town Center with specialty shops downstairs and loft living on the second level. A new residential neighborhood and a new gated area called Rose Hill is now under construction by Magnolia Custom Homes, LLC. Pocket parks and green space is located throughout the neighborhood, which also borders an extended portion of the Cleveland Greenways System traveling underneath 25th street, through Lee University campus, historic downtown and to the Museum Center @ 5ive Points.
Lawson said “since our beginning, a coffee shop has been a priority for us because of our traffic count and the fact there is no specialty coffee shops near our heavily populated neighborhoods. Brenda and I feel Lasaters ® Coffee & Tea is the perfect fit for what we have been creating here at Spring Creek. We are impressed with the owners and the quality product they offer to customers.”

Zack and Heather Gates are owners of the local operations. The couple, married for 13 years in July, are parents of Chloe, 7, and Paul 5. Gates retired from the military in September 2010 after being assigned to the 82nd Airborne Div, 101st Airborne Div and other units. He and his wife had to choose a different career after as decision from a medical condition that started while serving in Afghanistan. LASATERS ® offered the challenge and stability needed to seek out a successful life. When the new Spring Creek coffeehouse is complete this Fall, the couple will pursue another location in the future, possibly in Chattanooga.

Mat Lasater, CEO of Lasaters Corporation said: "From our first trip to Guatemala a couple of years ago, Zack and I got to experience what it would be like working together, which was an all-around wonderful trip!  Zack and Heather are an amazing team and are a good example of what a great family unit can do when working together towards a common goal.  We look forward to working closely with them over the next few months as they prepare to open the Spring Creek location, which will be the very best coffeehouse in southern Tennessee.”

HAZ LLC opened a LASATERS® Coffee & Tea coffee kiosk at the Bradley County Cleveland Public Library in September 2011.  Their hours of operation and store information can be found at www.facebook.com/Lasaters.Cleveland.   For more information on LASATERS® Coffee & Tea visit www.LasatersCoffee.com or call (888) 874-8616

Stay tuned to our main facebook page for more info! You can also *Like* this new location on facebook here.

Have a great day!

Ah, the memories... by Mat Lasater

Making memories.

As we prepare to open a franchised location in Cleveland, TN (facebook.com/Lasaters.Cleveland) I go about my day with planning, scheduling and forecasting for the coming weeks.  I take a quick break to look through the Lasaters pages of Facebook and I am reminded how many challenges we've had as a company, from the beginning, and the successes that we've had this far.  I wanted to share just a few pictures with you and hopefully blog about them all some day. There are many, many more to come, but here are just a few... 

Bumper stickers.

We took a poll to find out who like what bumper sticker that we had designed a couple of years ago.  While we never went forward with bumper stickers (yet) we did find out that most people liked this design the most:

Buttons.

A few years back some of the staff started wearing buttons of their favorite seasonal drink.  Fun!  Do you remember these?

The Great Flood of 2010.

Who could forget this?  Well, if you weren't here in Tennessee, you probably heard about it on the news.  Tennessee, specifically Clarksville and Nashville, were hit with a massive flood that ended many businesses and brought our regional economy to a near standstill.  Our original Lasaters Coffee & Tea Store on Riverside Drive (facebook.com/lasaters.riverside) made it through this tough time though.  Thank you to the owners, Ricky and Nicole Edwards, for putting in tireless efforts to get their store up and running again.  

Gift Cards.

This was the first gift card that Lasaters ever had - notice the original logo? :)

Trip to Finca La Perla, Guatemala City and Antigua, Guatemala.

Lots to tell here.  We were driving through a village to meet with a lower-elevation farmer when we passed these children.  They were playing on a small concrete coffee-drying bed.  When we showed them the picture that we took of them playing they were all-smiles!  The above picture is the one we snapped next. :)  Lots to share about this wonderful trip... one day. :)

Our first coffee roaster.

This awesome drum roaster was the beginning of REAL coffee for us! We've since upgraded to a much larger, fluid-bed roaster that is more efficient and won't leave the coffee tasting like smoke. :)

2008(?) SCAA World Barista Championship.

A couple of us have gone to a few Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) trade shows.  The above picture is of a shot of espresso by one of the top contenders of the World Barista Competition.  GOOD ESPRESSO!  Some baristas are unbelievably awesome at their craft.

2008 World Tea Expo.

This is Anando Chatterjee and his wife (her name escapes me right now, but she is very pleasant).  He is our contact in Kolkata India for all of our teas from the region of Assam, Darjeeling and Nilgiri. 

Even snowmen like coffee.

Franchise owner Nicole Edwards and Katherine Rowe put up a snowman when Clarksville got a bit of snow.  It makes it fun to enjoy working with good people!

Fluid bed coffee roasting.

This is a picture of our new coffee roaster at our old warehouse.  We can now roast 38 pounds of coffee in 8 minutes. This thing is awesome!  Anyone for a tour of our new roasting facility? :)

Ok, that's it for right now.  I'd love to share more photos and stories in the future.  We've got thousands of pictures that we've taken throughout the years and many, many memories.  Thanks for being a part of Lasaters Coffee & Tea.  We love you all!

-Mat Lasater

New Healthy Grilled Wraps at Lasaters!

This past week Lasaters Corporation and its franchisees worked together to create an all-new lunch/dinner item for our customers.  While a couple of offerings didn't quite make the cut (Sausage, Bacon and Egg Breakfast Burrito, aka: the heart attack) we're proud to announce a couple of the healthier options did!  

The tasting panel consisted of Lasaters Corporation CEO Mat Lasater, local Franchisee Nicole Edwards, and of course, a few awesome baristas who stopped by from time to time to sample some of the delectable treats. :)  However, it's going to be up to YOU to tell us just how good the new options are!

Up first is the Turkey Pesto Grilled Wrap...

NEW! Turkey Pesto Grilled Wrap $5.99

The Turkey Pesto Grilled Wrap is amazing (and healthy)!  This offering consists of a spinach herb tortilla, sliced oven-roasted turkey breast, shredded cheddar-jack cheese, freshly sliced tomatoes, red onions, baby spinach, pesto basil sauce and a touch of mayonnaise.  

Up next, we've got what just may be the top contender, the Southwest Grilled Chicken Wrap...

NEW! Southwest Grilled Chicken Wrap $6.49

Another VERY healthy option, the Southwest Grilled Chicken Wrap comes with grilled chicken, shredded cheddar-jack cheese, freshly sliced tomatoes, red onions, baby spinach, Japanese horseradish (wasabi sauce), a touch of mayonnaise, all wrapped in a grilled jalapeno tortilla.  

We're working on getting this offerings launched in the next two weeks, but, some stores may have them available before the others.  These will be available at the Lasaters on Riverside Drive, Wilma Rudolph Boulevard (St. Bethlehem) and Highway 76 (Sango) locations.

We look forward to serving you soon, and, as always, thank you so very much for your business!

Lasaters Corporation

Lasaters Coffee & Tea

Add some pumpkin spice to your party!

Pumpkin Spice Latte!

Each year when the leaves begin falling, nature kicks into full-swing...
- your front lawn begins to slowly stop growing,
- the animals begin to prepare for winter,
- birds begin to instinctively head for a warmer climate,
- AND your taste buds begin desiring a Pumpkin Spice latte!

Well, we encourage you to indulge the urge and feed your taste buds what they're craving. All 4 of our Clarksville locations now have a limited supply of Pumpkin Spice that will add the flavor to your latte that your taste buds have been longing for!

Make sure to swing by your nearest Lasaters location and grab a large Pumpkin Spice Latte on your way to work, on your lunch break, or just for fun. Spread the good news - let you friends know that PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES HAVE ARRIVED!

New hires at Lasaters Headquarters

In addition to adding French presses and oatmeal to our menus, we've also made some new additions to our staff here at Lasaters headquarters...

Nate Witiuk is our new warehouse manager and coffee roaster. We works part-time here at the warehouse overseeing shipping & receiving, coffee roasting, delivery, inventory, and more. He has years of coffee experience from working at at a local coffee shop in his home town of Albuquerque, NM, where he helped a coffee shop get started and managed one of its locations. We're glad to have Nate on the Lasaters team!

Beginning next Monday, October 11, we'll be adding a new graphic designer to our team as well - Chris Varble. Chris recently moved to Tennessee from Oregon with his family. He has experience with graphic design as well as websites. He'll be working part-time here at Lasaters HQ overseeing advertising, web design, social networking, and more. Be on the lookout for some fresh new designs from him!


And speaking of hiring, Lasaters locations across Clarksville are always taking applications. You can download one here and drop if off at the nearest location.