It's been nearly 24 years since Gloria Jean Kvetko sold her stake in Gloria Jean's Coffees.

But the Long Grove resident who co-founded the company says she still enjoys visiting the specialty coffee shops that bear her name.

"I can't give it up," Kvetko said Friday in Bloomingdale. "I love everything about it -- past tense and now. I still have the same passion."

So when Kvetko was invited to celebrate the return of Gloria Jean's to Stratford Square Mall, she agreed to attend. On Friday, she spent several hours at the new shop -- located near the mall's food court -- chatting and posing for photos with customers.

For coffee lovers such as Judy DeVaux, the event was a reason to celebrate because the previous Gloria Jean's location at Stratford closed at least nine years ago.

"Gloria Jean's was always my favorite," the Carol Stream woman said. "It's fantastic to see it back."

The shop opened last month under new management. Mudzi Alvi and Nick Patel -- who own six other locations, including one at Westfield Fox Valley in Aurora -- are responsible for bringing Gloria Jean's back to Stratford.

"I think this mall needed a coffee shop," Alvi said. "We want to get our message across that what started back in 1979 still exists. And we are still the best coffee place in this country."

Kvetko and her ex-husband, Ed, founded Gloria Jean's in 1979 as a small coffee and gift shop in Long Grove. She soon started blending coffee and brewing different flavors, beginning with vanilla almond.

The idea caught on. "It's about being in the right place at the right time," Kvetko said.

With high consumer demand for specialty coffee, Gloria Jean's outlets started opening across the nation. Through franchises, the business grew to nearly 225 stores by 1993. That year, Kvetko sold the franchise for about $40 million.

Despite becoming a staple in shopping malls in the 1990s, the number of Gloria Jean's locations eventually declined in this country.

Then Australia-based Retail Food Group acquired the company in December 2014. Gloria Jean's now has nearly 900 stores worldwide and plans to expand in the United States. Right now, there are 55 U.S. stores, mostly located in malls.

"This new group (Retail Food Group) cares," Kvetko said. "I'm thrilled about it."

In addition to ice-blended chillers, mochas, lattes and hot cocoa, Gloria Jean's sells a variety of baked goods and pastries, whole beans and retail merchandise.

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