Local Biggby owners open second franchising location to give back to the community

“I come from the non-profit sector,” Pyshcer said. “Selling coffee is just how we get to give back to the community.”

Psycher said they chose Biggby to franchise for their commitment to community, with CEO Bob Fish wanting to put a “Name, a face, and a place to every one of our coffees we sell”.  

“In our first year we partnered with I think 73 nonprofits, and since then we’ve added probably a dozen more,” Psycher said. “We’re close to the 100 mark on nonprofits that are local.” 

Psycher said that they have given close to $12,000 back to their nonprofit partners. 

“At Biggby Coffee, we exist to love people and we exist to support them,” Psycher said. “Opening a second location was kind of the fuel to be able to support the community better.” 

Psycher attributed much of their success to her husband’s entrepreneurial attitude and his professor at Northwood University, Jim Hop.

“(Northwood University) is where my husband got his entrepreneurial degree,” Psycher said. “Jim was a critical component to Cory’s first business that he created in college and then sold to a larger company down in Kalamazoo where Cory and I met.”

Hop had previously met Biggby co-founder Bob Fish and enjoyed the culture the company had adopted. Hop served as an advisor to the pair when they were searching for potential franchises to become a part of.

Psycher said Hop often uses the pair as an example in his entrepreneur classes. 

“There’s a certain level of skill set for business ownership and then adding the franchise piece in, the benefit for my students are, my involvement in Biggby means I get new stories to tell in the classroom,” Hop said. “It means that Cory can come in and tell his story and for my students to hear from someone who’s not that far removed from where they’re at.”

Psycher said their family moved back to Midland because of how much they loved the community that Cory was able to experience in his college years. She said the pair was interested in Biggby immediately as she had always wanted to open a coffee shop of her own. 

“We wanted to do it in Midland because we loved the community and we came up to visit quite often,” Psycher said. “We just loved how family-friendly it is for our three year old and four year old.”

Biggby’s Eastman location held a grand opening of its lobby on April 1, 2022. The location is located at 6615 Eastman Avenue, near the Hampton Inn. The original location is located at 957 South Saginaw Road.