Aromas owners Geri and Don Pratt. Photo by Jessica O. Swink
By Jessica O. Swink
Small Business Insight
Aromas owners Don and Geri Pratt describe their coffeehouse as “fast casual” dining, offering entrees for every budget and meals for every time of day.
If customers are looking for stone-ground grits and shrimp with a glass of wine, or simply a Snickers latte, Aromas is the place to go.
“There are not many places like us, but there are plenty of people interested in getting into the business,” Geri says.
Don explains that when they opened their doors for business 10 years ago, there weren’t many businesses named “Aromas,” but now there seems to be many.
However, the Pratts have positioned themselves for expansion some day by trademarking their name early in the game.
“When we opened our doors, we had no idea what was going to happen,” Geri says. “But from the time we unlocked that door, it swung open and never stopped!”
The two have considered franchising, but are still in the researching phase of it.
“We’d like to carry the concepts to other localities where the model would fit,” Don says, naming college communities with tourist populations as ideal spots.
Aromas in Williamsburg was the first store opened, and the Newport News location opened in June 2006.
“I’m happy to say we’ve successfully duplicated our store to a second location,” Geri says.
Don and Geri both knew when they started that they had a concept that people were looking for, and there wasn’t anything like it around.
“We began identifying things that made us separate from others, and what we would carry with us,” Don explains. “These are the basics of what business is about, and for us, it’s centered around the customer’s experience.”
