Tionna Bishop opened her first Bishop's Coffee and Tea shop in Mary Esther in 2007 and has since opened a new Bishop's Coffee and Tea on Alcaniz Street in Pensacola. Her success has been a hard road with the oil spill and downturn of the economy but Bishop's determination and endless energy has proven worthy.
Breaking Through to The Fresh Market
Sharon Triplett, a professionally certified business consultant at the Florida SBDC at the University of West Florida, assisted Bishop with the opening of her first shop and has continued to assist with a financial evaluation for expansion to add her own roaster, the purchase of her store in Pensacola and her breakthrough into The Fresh Market retail franchise operation in Destin FL, Pensacola FL, Daphne AL and Mobile AL. Bishop has plans to expand into many other Fresh Market locations in the near future.
Bishop's passion for coffee was evident as she began speaking at a recent business luncheon where she shared her story of how she first knew she would be known for her love of great coffee, how she opened her first store, began roasting her own product, opened her second store and then became one of the first locals to break into The Fresh Market with her product. Bishop is the only local roaster who uses a non-fire roasting process which she says, "this gives the coffee a clean flavor that floats across the tongue and doesn't leave that bitter flavor." She ended her story with, "My next stop, NATIONAL!!!"
