The Aha moment

This is my reloadable Caribou Card. I have a Caribou Cap, a Caribou thermos and a Caribou mug. After I choose who I will give my business to, I am a loyal customer. My father always told me, "Son, if you don't know who the store owner is you probably shouldn't be shopping there." Caribou Coffee was a Minnesota corporation I thought, like Target, 3M, General Mills, Northwest Orient Airlines. "Keep your money close to home, son!" Until recently, there were no Caribou Lodges in this neck of the woods. When you got to the Twin Cities there were Carabous jumping out of the woodwork everywhere. You stopped, tried their coffees, bought their stuff and relaxed in the Caribou Lodge with echoes of the Hamms Beer Bear in your ears. Two weeks ago I was in a Caribou Lodge in Caribou's Hometown of Edina standing around reading the fine print:

"Here at Caribou Coffee, we believe this to be true: that if passion, hard work, and excellence go into an endeavor, the outcome will be a quality experience, and therefore rewarding.

In 1990, during an adventure through the Alaskan wilderness, our founders journeyed to the top of Sable Mountain. After a strenuous climb, they reached the summit and were rewarded with a sensational view: the boundless mountains, a clear blue sky, and a herd of caribou thundering through the valley.

That was truly the “aha” moment.

The breathtaking panoramic view became the entrepreneurial vision for Caribou Coffee — a company that believes excellence is a product of hard work, and that life is too short for anything else. This vision serves as a guide as we strive to create a special experience for you here at Caribou.

Now, we invite you as our guest along this path. Enjoy a moment, or several, filled with the highest-quality coffee and unparalleled service. Our mission at Caribou Coffee is to provide an experience that makes the day better. Thanks for joining us and please come again." (from www.caribou.com)

I almost choked on my Caribou blend.

Fast forward to a few days later. I am walking down the coffee aisle of Larry's when Phil stops to talk to me about coffee. Phil has talked to me about coffee before. Lately he has been stocking the beans of Three Bean Coffee Roasters in Fergus Falls. He spies my Caribou Cap.

"You know you are not supposed to do business with Caribou."
"Oh, is that so? Why not? I stop there all the time."
"They're Arabs."
"Here try these beans from Timor from a new Minnesota coffee company called Rock Solid Coffee Company."

I do not respond the Caribou comment and thank Phil for the beans. I rack my brain trying to remember what I had read about this. For sure it was just a rumor being spread around by Starbucks.

The facts as I believe them to be are that:
The majority stockholder (60.6%) of Caribou Coffee is Arcapita, an investment bank in Bahrain. Arcapita insists that Caribou Coffee be managed under Sharia Law.

Between 2006 and 2012 two hundred and fifty Caribou Coffee Lodges will be opened, not in Minnesota, not in the Midwest, but in the Middle East.

I am not sure how I should feel about this?

Obviously, Caribou Coffee cannot force Sharia Law on any of it's North American employees, so why should I worry?
Caribou Coffee has lost money almost every year, so why should I worry?
If I don't buy their coffee, I will hasten their demise.
Caribou Coffee is worried about it themselves:

"We may be subject to adverse publicity resulting from statements about Arcapita or complaints or questions from our customers arising from such adverse publicity.
Arcapita, our majority shareholder, could be the subject of allegations that could adversely affect our reputation in the eyes of our customers or investors due to the fact that it has offices in Bahrain and that its investors are located in the Middle East. During 2002, we were subject to adverse publicity due to attempts to connect Arcapita with inflammatory and controversial statements made by one of its former outside advisors, in his individual capacity, regarding a variety of subjects, including events in the Middle East. We may be subject to additional adverse publicity in the future due to the ownership of our common stock by Arcapita. Even if unfounded, such adverse publicity could divert our managementís time and attention and adversely affect the way our customers perceive us, our net sales or results of operations, in the aggregate or at individual coffeehouses, or the market price for shares of our common stock." (Form 10-K Caribou Coffee Company, Inc. - CBOU Filed: March 31, 2006 (period: January 01, 2006)

For now I guess it's back to basics, back to what Dad taught me. I'm going to be buy from Tabi and Sharon at Riverside. I will continue to use the Caribou Coffee thermos, but will shred my Caribou card. The Caribou Cap will go, with best wishes, to a 56572 Muslim.

Turns out that Rock Solid sounds almost too rock solid with only one shareholder:

“Rock Solid Coffee Company is a wholly owned limited liability company, owned by Rock Solid Youth Center. Every dime of profit goes back to Rock Solid so that our board of directors can distribute it across the country and around the world. There is not one nickel of profit from this company that will ever be sent to a shareholder. The shareholder for this company is the Lord God.” (from http://www.rocksolidcoffee.com/information.php?info_id=5.)

Aha.