A year and a half after opening their first drive-through coffee outlet in Red Bank, Chris Wood and Doug Lee are adding another "be caffeinated" location in North Chattanooga as developers continue to brew up more coffee shops and drive-through outlets across Chattanooga.
The 26-year-old entrepreneurs, who learned the business working at a coffee shop in Hattiesburg, Mississippi while students at the University of Southern Mississippi, are opening another "be caffeinated" location at the corner of Kent and Velma streets where they will also begin roasting their own coffee.
"We decided to go into this location because we wanted somewhere we could roast coffee, keep up with our drive-thru business model, and have patios for people to enjoy themselves on," Wood said.
The newest coffee shop will be within a couple of blocks of three other coffee shops - Milk & Honey, Mean Mug and Starbucks - which have all opened over the past decade to serve the growing North Shore retail and apartment scene.
Across Chattanooga, drive-through coffee outlets continue to proliferate. Dunkin' opened a new drive-through outlet on South Broad Street last week and one of the nation's fastest-growing coffee chains - the Omaha, Nebraska-based Scooter's - is preparing to open a new drive-through coffee outlet on Shallowford Road near the Hamilton Place Mall by the end of the year. The new Scooter's will be the first of what could be 10 such units in Chattanooga and another four in nearby Cleveland, Tennessee.
Americans love their coffee and during the pandemic they are buying more of it at drive-in locations.
"We're excited about coming into the Chattanooga market and continuing to grow our franchised business across the country," said Tim Arpin, vice president of franchise recruitment for Scooter's. "Coffee drinking continues to grow and we have found the market tends to grow even more when there are more options for consumers."
Scooter's expects to grow from about 330 units to nearly 1,000 units nationwide in the next five years, including the 10 units planned in Chattanooga, Arpin said.
The new drive-through site for the latest "be caffeinated" on the North Shore was originally built as a bank drive-through location for Cohutta Bank & Trust, now Synovus, and has previously housed two restaurants that stayed open for only a few months each. In 2017, developer John Wise opened the Sip Coffee + Kitchen, which closed after operating only a few months. In October 2017, Red Sauce opened but then closed in July 2018.
The 1,900-square-foot building is free standing and sits on the corner of Kent St and Velma Street behind The Big Chill. It also includes a covered patio space along with a drive-through window.
"We will be taking over the entire building and patios at 14 W. Kent Street," Wood said.
The new location will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. most days once the unit is in full operation next week. During this week's "soft opening," the new "be caffeinated" is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.
In the past year, Wood and Lee also opened a "be caffeinated" outlet at Chattanooga State Community College, but that unit has been closed until the college resumes more normal operation after the COVID-19 limits are lifted.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340