Forbes magazine recently issued its list of the 20 best franchises in the nation. So who made it in? Bangor franchise Coffee News ranked 18th with a worldwide circulation of 7 million readers.  

Coffee News has 725 franchises in the United States, including 29 in Maine from Kittery to Caribou, Buckley says. It claims a worldwide weekly readership of 7 million, and Buckley estimates about 200,000 per week in Maine. The operation charges $8,000 for the first franchise and $5,500 for subsequent franchises. With recent declines in home equity loans, home values and available credit, Coffee News is for the first time working with outside lenders to finance new franchises, including a local bank that may soon finance franchises nationwide, Buckley says.

Though recognized several times over the years by Entrepreneur magazine, Coffee News has earned its first-ever recognition from Forbes, a fact Buckley attributes to the glossy magazine's recent effort to attract franchisers to its ad base. "We're just flabbergasted," he told Mainebiz. "Not that we think we didn't deserve it. We didn't think people would notice. We're a niche publication; we're not The Wall Street Journal."