Caribou Coffee, the nation’s second-largest premium coffee chain, will install “mini Caribou Coffeehouses” inside Einstein Bros. Bagels’ two Champaign-Urbana main stores.
The change goes into effect immediately. In conjunction with the openings, customers can purchase $2 mochas and lattes through mid-July, a spokesperson said, though dates may vary by location.
Einstein’s locations on North Prospect Avenue in Champaign and at the intersection of University and Lincoln avenues in Urbana have added the Caribou coffeehouses. Einstein’s other locations on the University of Illinois campus will not be involved, Caribou spokesperson Emma Schaddel said.
Einstein has brewed its own coffee for years. Caribou will offer its 100 percent, Rainforest Alliance-certified, 100 percent Arabica coffee made from the world’s top one percent of beans, the company said.
Caribou was founded in 1992 and has more than 800 locations in 23 states and 12 countries.
“Good coffee is important to our guests,” said Leigh Anne Snider, president of Einstein Bros. “Now you don’t have to choose between a great coffee experience and a great breakfast sandwich; you can have both.”