By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — For the second time in just a few weeks, another coffee shop that specializes in drive-thru service has opened in Warsaw.
Scooters Coffee recently opened on South Buffalo Street with brisk sales, and Dutch Bros opened at 5 a.m. Thursday at its new store on U.S. 30 in the old Kmart Shopping Center and next to Wendy’s.
The store is the 1,265th for the company and features two drive-thru lanes and a walk-up window.
The local operation will employ nearly 50 people, many of whom showed up for a ribbon-cutting Wednesday afternoon hosted by the Kociusko Chamber of Commerce,
Along with plenty of coffee choices, the store has an expansive menu.
“Almost anything that you can sip through a straw, we can make,” said Austin Hermanson, an operator for the store who has worked for the company for ten years.
“We can do smoothies and teas, lemonades, chais, sodas, hot cocos, just a bunch of great things. And we recently started offering hot and cold food as well,” he said.
Warsaw is now home to four corporate coffee shops that specialize in drive-thru service.
Hermanson said the growing emphasis on drive-thru stores is a matter of demand.
“People in this day and age are focused on convenience. I think that the world moves so quickly, and so having a quick option without having to get out of your car — I think that that’s huge,” he said.
Dutch Bros opens regularly at 5 a.m. and stays open as late as 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
