Is Caribou teaming up with J.C. Penney?

An official partnership hasn’t been announced, but a secret concept store may indicate there’s a future deal between Brooklyn Center-based Caribou Coffee and J.C. Penny. The Dallas Business Journal reports several hundred analysts and investors got a glimpse at how J.C. Penny CEO Ron Johnson wants to transform the Dallas-based retail chain. The prototype included a coffee shop featuring Caribou Coffee.

Ron Johnson is a former executive at Target Corp. The Minneapolis-based discount retailer has long featured Starbucks Coffee shops in its stores.