Meeting Grounds Buys Taste of Seattle, Opens Downtown St. Cloud Location

St. Cloud, MN, August 6, 2007
A new Meeting Grounds Cafe and Deli opened today at 27 N 7th Avenue at the site of the former Taste of Seattle coffee shop. The location, though under new local ownership, will continue to be managed by Debby Hess-the previous owner of Taste of Seattle. Hess said of the relationship, "My vision has always been for a strong, locally-owned coffee shop serving downtown St. Cloud. I'm excited to be joining a company with a similar vision and strong heritage in St. Cloud, and to continue serving the many wonderful customers I've come to know the past few years."

This is the second opening of a Meeting Grounds since Tricouni Enterprises purchased the brand in the fall of 2006. They currently own and operate Meeting Grounds - Waite Park (139 West Division Street, attached to Great Harvest Bread Company) which reopened in January 2007.

Tricouni Enterprises, LLC, is a St. Cloud based, family-owned business known for making businesses successful and keeping them local. Proud of Meeting Grounds' heritage, and what it means to the area, Tricouni is excited about carrying on its rich tradition while expanding its reach through cafe licensing opportunities and office coffee programs. The purchase of Taste of Seattle also included their bakery division, which will now be operated by Meeting Grounds. This division supplies baked goods to nearly 20 independent coffee shops and food outlets in the region.

Meeting Grounds President Mike Roth said of the venture, "Meeting Grounds is known for giving people what they want in a coffee shop. Not just great coffee and food, but also a friendly place to gather-that is an alternative to the national chains. They want to keep it local. And they love the small local coffee shops as a place to gather. We're so excited to bring Meeting Grounds back into downtown St. Cloud."

Meeting Grounds - St. Cloud is open Monday through Friday from 6:30 am to 4 pm and Saturdays from 8 am to 2 pm. In addition to an extensive line of fresh roasted coffees, both Meeting Grounds locations feature a menu with a wide variety of pastries, quiches, specialty sandwiches, wraps, soups and salads. They are also the exclusive coffee shops for Blue Sky Creamery ice cream in central Minnesota. The St. Cloud location's phone number is 320-259-5114.

TAGS: St Cloud Coffee Shop, Meeting Grounds, Taste of Seattle, Downtown St Cloud Coffee, St Cloud Coffee