A new coffee house is percolating in St. John.
Biggby Coffee, one of the Region’s fastest-growing coffee shop chains, opened at 9151 Wicker Ave in the former Centier Bank branch in the St. John Mall in St. John. Being in a former bank building, it boasts three drive-through lanes.
Nicholas Novak, a U.S. Army National Guard veteran and former police officer, and his wife Mary, who works at a cancer treatment facility, opened the Biggby Coffee. The Michigan-based chain serves coffee, lattes, tea lattes, Red Bull mocktails hot chocolates and freezes. It for instance has energy blast drinks with flavors like mango, blood orange, dragonfruit, lemon, green apple, blue raspberry and strawberry.
It also has a variety of food items like bagels, Kind Bars, Cuban ciabatta and bragels or breakfast bagel sandwiches. All in all, it has more than 200 menu items because of how customizable the drinks are.
“The variety appeals to everybody,” said Novak, who previously worked as a Lake County correction officer, Gary police officer and South Shore Line police officer. “We’ve got different beverages with caffeine, milk alternatives, something for everyone. We were introduced to the product in February of last year, started drinking the product and found it amazing. It’s a superior product. We were sold on the business.”
The Novaks were big fans of the coffee and liked how people-centric Biggby Coffee was. The fast-growing chain has 350 locations in nine states. It has coffee shops in Chesterton, Crown Point and Michigan City and is expanding to Highland and Valparaiso.
The Novaks thought St. John would be a perfect location for a Biggby Coffee.
“It’s growing at a rapid pace,” he said. “It’s a diverse community. The comprehensive plans calls for more cafes and coffee shops. People have been incredibly supportive. We’re between Lake Central High School and St. John the Evangelist, so we’re in a prime location.”
Biggby Coffee is located in a 2,000-square-foot building with a bank vault it’s using for storage. It did renovations that maintained “the spirit of the bank” while giving it more of a 1920s-style steampunk design.
“Because of the lobby, we have one of the larger locations,” he said. “It’s a pretty interior. We believe people are really starved to gather and communicate. We believe people miss that connection.”
The Novaks plan to add outdoor seating and a stage where aspiring musicians can perform.
“As a coffee shop we have a unique opportunity to be the best part of someone’s day,” he said. “We offer an experience. We want to know about the customer’s day. We’re very focused on people, on our employees and our customers.”
Biggby Coffee is open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
For more information, call 219-558-0145 or find Biggby Coffee St. John on Facebook or Instagram.
