Waterbean Coffee has a new location heading to Hickory, according to its website. This will be the third site in Hickory for the specialty coffee brand.
Owner Tony Vo told What Now Charlotte in a phone interview that he plans to focus on that location after bringing the brand’s major location heading to Gastonia to the finish line this summer. Vo shared that the new Hickory spot is expected to join the Hickory Food Hall.
More locations are also in the works, though Vo declined to share details on other upcoming locations at this time since leases are still being finalized.
Since founding the brand in 2013, Vo has opened 18 locations throughout the Greater Charlotte area. The brand serves specialty coffee and focuses on providing places where people can gather and relax.
Moving forward, Vo expects to shift some of his focus from opening brick-and-mortar locations — which he has been doing at a rapid pace — to building the company’s online and wholesale presence. However, he is still keeping his eye out for new opportunities for storefronts, as well.
“I think as a brand, it has surpassed all my expectations already — to be able to expand to this many locations in this short amount of time with me just doing it and not having franchises and all that stuff,” Vo said. “It really already surpassed a lot of expectations that I set out for Waterbean Coffee itself, but I’m always looking to expand. When an opportunity arrives and I feel like it’s the right fit for a brand, then I will move forward with that.”
