AUSTIN-The Austin coffee wars are heating up–a little bit–with Seattle's Best Coffee LLC planning to open a series of cafes in Austin and Waco. It's something of a decaf rollout, compared to Starbuck's, with Seattle's Best Coffee and its local franchise partner planning 13 cafes in Austin and three in Waco by 2006.

The first cafe could start pouring coffee as soon as January, according to an announcement from Seattle's Best, based in Seattle. Robert Gleason, president of RTG Business Enterprises LP, the franchisee, was not available to answer questions about the cafe locations. Overall this year, Seattle's Best says it has signed commitments to develop 99 stores. Gleason and partner Rick Timmins are the principals of RTG.

Starbuck's Coffee Co., also based in Seattle, is the dominant coffee shop in the Austin area. It has 25 locations in the Austin area and one each in Temple and Waco.