By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Gary Dible, owner of the Bowling Green Biggby Coffee franchise, is halfway through his 10-year plan, and has his goal in his crosshairs.
When he opened the Biggby Coffee in Bowling Green on July 15, 2014, he had his sights set on owning three shops within a decade. He’s one away. He also owns the Biggby on the Anthony Wayne Trail in Maumee.
And, he said, he had a third location “in my crosshairs” recently, but another franchiser was able to pull the trigger first. Still, he’s confident the right opportunity will turn up.
Moving into the coffee business five years ago was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream that he actually was thinking he may not realize.
Dible, who grew up in McComb and graduated from McComb High School in 1984, said all through high school and college, he dreamed of owning his own business. “It was just a lifelong dream,’ he said.
But life intervened. His then fiancee pushed him to go back to school in 1990. “You need to go to college, That’s the way you’re going to advance,” the future Amy Dible told him.
So Dible enrolled in the construction management program at Bowling Green State University as a part-time student, and graduated seven years later.
Dible said he’s forever grateful for his wife, who teaches science in Bowling Green Middle School, pushing him.
Working for a manufacturer of highway bridge components he did well, scaling the corporate ladder. His family grew. He was happy, and probably would still be if life didn’t intervene again.
The company was bought out, and the corporate culture changed. Dible found himself looking in the mirror wondering if he wanted to hold out for another 19 years and retire.
The dream that lay fallow beckoned.
Dible wasn’t a coffee drinker until his mid-to-late 20s, and only sweet drinks.
Then he had a Honey Bear at Biggby. “This is the best thing,” he thought.
Soon with three kids involved in athletics, he and his wife started planning their travels through the Northern Lakes League territory based on having time before or after the game for a Biggby stop.
“I felt if Biggby Coffee could turn me into a fanatic what could it do for the city of Bowling Green?”
Dible had to move quickly because he learned someone else was eyeing a shop in Bowling Green. First person to sign their lease gets the territory. At that point Market Place Square, on the northeast corner of East Wooster and Prospect, was just being developed.
The Biggby Coffee ended up being the first tenant.
For the first couple years, he worked behind the counter. “I was on the schedule every day, which was great because I got to meet so many people in BG,” Dible said. “I think I’m the best barista Biggby’s ever had,” then adding, “I’m not .”
Still he takes great pride when customers would say the latte drink he made them looked better than it did in the advertising.
“Coffee is not cheap, especially premium specialty coffee,” he said, “so I want to make sure they get their money’s worth.”
The offerings at Biggby extend beyond coffee to smoothies, frozen cream drinks, including an avocado based offering, hot chocolate, tea, and bagel sandwiches.
The chain determines what’s offered. That consistency is important, Dible said. “I don’t want someone to walk in and be disappointed because we don’t have what another store sells.”
Now, Dible said, “my job is no longer to stay behind the counter and make the drinks. My job is to go out into the community. To be involve. To try to get people to come into my store. The barista’s job is to seal the deal.”
He’s proud that they do such a good job. “That starts with greeting them when they walk in the door. I hear so many people say ‘I just love your staff. They’re so nice.’”
That’s winning combination, he said.“I feel like if I stick with the plan with excellent customer service and quality product, you can’t fail.”
He added: “We’re not perfect. I’m glad we’re not perfect. When you’re perfect there’s no room for improvement.
The shop employs 20 part-time workers, mostly BGSU students. That means there’s constant turnover as some graduate. Others leave to go home for the summer. But those who stay in town are looking to work as many hours as they can.
Dible will offer them shifts in the Maumee shop, which he purchased in June 2017. He bought it from the previous owner when she decided to move to Florida.
Dible is pleased that he’s close enough to his baristas that they sometimes turn to him for guidance.
Biggby Coffee started in 1995 in East Lansing, Michigan. It now has about 300 stores. It’s growth has been concentrated in Michigan. Recently it opened locations in Cleveland. Columbus, he said, is “on the radar.”
Dible wants to be part of its future growth.
Meanwhile he works his territory.
The company is now the official coffee of BGSU athletics, and they supply the coffee for the two Kiwanis pancake breakfasts.
They were the official coffee of the Marathon Classic golf tournament. And they supply several churches.
“We won’t say ‘no’ if it’s a good cause and local.”
For the past two years Dible has been a mentor for the BGSU Hatch.
Some people have even told him he must have a twin brother because they see him so many places. They, he said, appreciate the company’s generosity.
“That’s a great reputation to have.”
