Courtesy / Aroma Joe's
Aroma Joe's new Winslow location is in a former Dunkin'.
Updated: July 27, 2022
South Portland-based Aroma Joe's coffee chain continues expansion in Maine, elsewhere
File Photo / Tim Greenway
Aroma Joe’s CEO Loren Goodridge is leading an expansion drive for the South Portland-based chain, which is now up to 88 locations in seven states.
Adding to its footprint in Maine, South Portland-based coffee chain Aroma Joe's has opened a new drive-thru and coffeehouse in Winslow, where it plans to employ more than 20 people.
The company, led by CEO Loren Goodridge since 2018, now has 88 locations across Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
Aroma Joe's is the largest Maine-based franchiser and the state's eighth-largest franchise brand, according to data compiled for Mainebiz earlier this year by FRANdata, a market research company in Arlington, Va.
Including the new Winslow drive-thru and coffeehouse at 9 Bay St., there are now 36 Aroma Joe's locations in Maine. The Winslow site is 1,878 square feet and is located in a former Dunkin' coffee shop.
Further locations are planned for Lewiston, due to open at the end of August, and for Topsham, opening at the end of September, a company spokesperson told Mainebiz.
The expansion comes amid a bullish industry outlook from the International Franchise Association. In its latest annual outlook report published in February, the Washington, D.C.-based organization said that franchising is leading the economic recovery in the United States, highlighting business growth across all sectors from personal services to lodging.
More recently, however, the group cautioned that labor shortages remain a challenge on franchised small businesses.
Aroma Joe's claims to be one of the fastest-growing franchises in the United States. Each location sells handcrafted coffee and espresso as well as food and energy drinks.
In its quest for additional franchisees, the company promotes a low franchise fee compared to other coffee business opportunities, various build-out options for owners and opportunity for community impact.
"Each time I open a new location as part of a franchisee team, I'm reminded of the importance of the Aroma Joe's brand values of caring, compassion and positively impacting people," said Goodridge, who became the company's first franchisee in 2013. "I started my tenure with the company as a franchisee, and positively impacting my local employees, customers and communities remains a crucial part of what I do."
The company's expansion drive seeks to build on 82.8% sales growth between 2018 and 2020, when the company was able to "stay nimble" and keep stores open during the pandemic, as Goodridge explained in an interview with Mainebiz earlier this year.
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