CAFE LATTE.

Owner: Jim Sahene

Address: 2600 Lakewood Village Place, Suite D, North Little Rock, 72116

Phone: [phone]

Hours: 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 6:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; noon-10 p.m. Sunday.

Start-up: June 4

Jim Sahene is using his experience as head of TCBY Systems Inc., TCBY's franchising arm, to save money and run a new business in the same building as his TCBY franchise in the Lakewood Village Shopping Center in North Little Rock.

Cafe Latte is an upscale coffee shop themed to -be "a meeting place for friends." And with the plush leather couches, jazz music, a big-screen television, a fireplace and a free Internet computer bar, Sahene said the 1,400-SF store provides a warm and rich environment, ideal for an evening out or as an after-dinner spot.

"We serve a variety of coffees, but the most prestigious is Jamaican Blue Mountain," Sahene said. "It is the most exquisite coffee bean in the world."

All the store's straight coffees cost $1.59 for 16 ounces and $1.29 for 12 ounces. And like at any good coffee shop, Cafe Latte serves espresso, cappuccino, cafe au lait, cafe mocha, flavored coffees and various iced coffees.

Sahene, who also owns TCBY stores in Jacksonville and Conway, said the shop serves coffee through its drive-through every morning and sells bagels, muffins and danishes from JT Bakery of North Little Rock. And for lunch, the coffee shop's most popular items thus far are the spicy smoked turkey wrap ($5.99) and the chicken Caesar salad ($5.49).

The shop has 11 part-time and four full-time employees. At the end of one year in business, Sahene expects the shop to need 20 employees.

Sahene, marketing partner NitaKaye Freeman and operations partner Elly Rumbach are scouting additional locations in Conway and west Little Rock.