A redesigned TCBY will replace Strip Teas and Coffee in mid to late July, local TCBY franchise owner Charles Tiller said.
“The biggest thing we wanted was a progressive look and feel,” said Tiller, who owns two TCBY stores in the Tuscaloosa area and has been a franchise owner with TCBY for 25 years.
Instead of a typically styled TCBY, the new location will have a contemporary design and incorporate self-serve yogurt, coffee and a lounge setting for students. The store will also accept Bama Cash. Tiller also said he’s “looking at the Dining Dollar option.”
However, working with the current layout of the building presented a design challenge.
“We tried to incorporate electronic accessibility throughout the shop, including iPhone chargers and plenty of wall outlets for laptops and enough space for studying and relaxing,” Tiller’s design consultant Anne Elise Kindred said. “It was difficult to find enough space for customers and employees to function.”
Kindred is also a junior at the University majoring in interior design.
A large part of the appeal of the TCBY will be in the diversity of the store’s offerings, Tiller said. He and Kindred agreed that the combination of modern electronics access, self-serve yogurt, coffee shop and lounge space would appeal to the independent spirit of students.
“You’re setting the price of what you want,” Tiller said. “You can come in and just get a little cup of yogurt or you can really load up and enjoy.”
His long-time experience with TCBY, his membership on the company’s advisory board and the success of his two TCBY locations made Tuscaloosa an easy choice for a third store, Tiller said.
He also said the location’s business history was not a concern.
“We have gone into spaces that have had people in the past and we haven’t had a problem competing,” he said. “I do not have any doubt that this will do well.”
Tony Pasarello, chief marketing advisor for TCBY, agreed.
“It’s hard to blame the location for past closures, since it’s so highly-visible and highly-trafficked,” Pasarello said. “No location, however good, takes the place of a menu and setting that’s in tune with customers’ wants and needs.
“There will be a big grand opening, but it will follow a soft opening during which we’ll fine-tune the operation to make certain that the grand opening totally exceeds customer expectations,” Pasarello said.
