Popular Midwest coffee chain Biggby opens first Tampa Bay location

In yet another sign that the entire Midwest is moving to Tampa Bay, one of the region's favorite coffee shops has opened its first local spot over in Clearwater.

Today, Michigan-based Biggby Coffee opened its first Tampa Bay location at  4000 Ulmerton Road inside what used to be a Mexican restaurant, reports St. Pete Rising.

Of course, as anyone from Michigan who was around in the mid-to-late-'90s will tell you there is a bit of irony here, since the popular coffee chain was originally (though unintentionally) called a Hispanic racial slur that starts with the letter "B."

In 2007, when the owners decided they wanted to expand outside of the Lansing metro area, the name was changed to Biggby, which allowed it to keep the same logo and color scheme but without all the racism.

"As we’ve continued to expand into new markets, we’ve heard more and more comments about our name, to the point that we had to take a hard look at changing it,"  said co-founder Bob Fish, in a statement at the time. "We ultimately felt we would be condoning the use of a disparaging term if we chose to do nothing."

Obviously, this was a smart move. The chain quickly ballooned beyond Michigan, and into Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and now the "Big B" is found as far west as Idaho, and in southeastern states like the Carolinas and Georgia.

According to the company's site, Biggby's has only one other Florida location in Daytona Beach, and another planned for Jacksonville.

For the unfamiliar, the company offers a full array of hot and cold coffee drinks, as well teas, sandwiches, bagels, loose and pre-ground beans, a drive-thru and more. But arguably the flagship at Biggby's is the classic "Caramel Marvel," which is essentially a caramel latte dressed with whipped cream and a caramel drizzle.

The new Clearwater location is open every Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays from 6 a.m.to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.