WILMINGTON — Bitty & Beau’s Coffee, the local favorite responsible for keeping Rachael Ray caffeinated, has announced the result of its month-long search for a second home.
Owners Ben and Amy Wright announced in late February that they would be taking fan suggestions for the location of a second family-run location throughout March. Monday morning, Bitty & Beau’s announced the winner: Charleston, South Carolina.
After receiving messages from individuals and towns around the United States, Amy Wright said it was a close decision.
“There were a lot of beautiful cities and great towns that we heard from, that opened their arms to us,” Wright said. “But Charleston’s beauty really spoke to us – Southern Living Magazine, who we’ve had a great relationship with, recently named them the ‘Best City in the South,’ and though we’re partial to Wilmington, when it came to picking a second location, Charleston really felt right.”
Wright said that beyond Charleston’s historic and aesthetic appeal, the letters and emails she received really sealed the deal.
“It was the families that reached out,” Wright said. “There were so many people who wanted something for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The response from the Charleston community was really overwhelming – in the best way.”
Currently in talks with real estate and development agents in Charleston, Bitty & Beau’s is looking to open the new location in the city’s historic district in the fall of 2017. Amy Wright said she looks forward to pursuing Bitty & Beau’s mission of “creating a path for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to become more valued, accepted and included in every community.”
Said Wright, “we’ve been so lucky – and so happy – to do this in Wilmington, the community has been so good to us. We can’t wait to see what Charleston has in store for us.”
