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CASSOPOLIS — Tuesday morning, a line of cars snaked through a parking lot in downtown Cassopolis and trailed into State Street.

The parade of vehicles meant one thing — the long-awaited Cassopolis Biggby Coffee location was open to the public, and area residents were ready to get their fill of specialty coffee and lattes.

Nearly a year after announcing its construction, a Cassopolis Biggby location, 208 E. State St., opened its drive-thru. The lobby will open at a later, to-be-determined date.

The Cassopolis/Vandalia Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to welcome the new business to the community and celebrate the occasion.

The new operation is owned by Sheri Morris and her husband, Tom, of White Pigeon. After spending her first hours of business constantly making and serving drinks, Morris said she was “overwhelmed” by the Cassopolis community’s support.

“It’s been amazing, actually,” she said. “It’s really great.”

Biggby Coffee is a Michigan-based company founded in 1995 in East Lansing. By 1999, the company began franchising, and as of 2019, more than 230 Biggby Coffee locations were operational within the U.S.

Morris said she was given the idea to open a Biggby franchise after successfully running a Biggby trailer at the Cass County Fair. It was recommended that she make Cassopolis the home of her business, and, after seeing the community’s response on Tuesday, Morris said she knew she made the right choice.

“We are really happy to be here,” she said.

The community is just as happy to have the new Biggby in Cassopolis, said Billie Hires, president of the Cassopolis/Vandalia Chamber of Commerce.

“[A coffee shop] is long overdue,” Hires said. “We are so excited to have a new business downtown. … [Biggby] is such a good brand, and we love that they are here.”

Going forward, Morris said she hopes her business can both become an integral part of the community and part of the growth and redevelopment taking place in downtown Cassopolis.

“There are a lot of big things happening in this town, and I think we just need to be a staple here,” she said.