The last thing Derrek Kaier, president of North Metro Ballers, a nonprofit basketball club headquartered in Broomfield, was looking to do was to open his own coffee shop.
Then he met Brandon Knudson, one of the nonprofit’s coaches and co-owner of Ziggi’s Coffee in Longmont.
“I never intended to get into the coffee business,” said Kaier, who works in IT and real estate in Denver. But as he learned more about Ziggi’s Coffee, founded in 2004 by Knudson and his wife, Camrin, the more he liked the concept. As a result he jumped on board to become one of the company’s first franchisees. He will open Greeley’s first Ziggi’s Coffee, 5815 20th St., just down the street from Aims Community College. He anticipates hiring up to 15 employees beginning in July.
The Greeley Ziggi’s, which joins nine other locations in northern Colorado, will have a double drive-thru and walk-up window. Kaier said the menu includes a full lineup of hot and cold drinks, along with pastries, breakfast burritos and sandwiches.
Kaier resides in Denver, works in IT and real estate, and is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado.
He concedes that opening a coffee franchise in a somewhat crowded field of coffee houses and drive-ups has him nervous. “I know Brandon personally. He’s an honest, good guy, and I know how he’s built his company. It’s just a little step above (the others). I’m hoping people will see what I saw.”
