How To Start a Drive-Thru Coffee Stand

How to Start a Drive-thru Coffee Stand

How To Start a Drive-Thru Coffee Stand

Your Guide To Start a Drive-Thru Coffee Shop

A drive-thru coffee shop is a common retail coffee concept that usually consists of a small structure – or stand – with one or two drive-thru service windows. Customers typically drive up to the window and order their coffee and food. As you can imagine, this is super convenient for most customers since they never have to leave their car!

Drive-thru coffee stands can vary in size and design, but typically, they serve one purpose: they conveniently offer coffee and food to drivers.

Customers can often walk up to a coffee stand as well! The term “Drive-Thru Coffee Stand” is used interchangeably with “Drive-Thru Coffee Shop.”

Drive-thru coffee stands are widespread in the Pacific Northwest but can be found all over North America.

Starting a drive-thru coffee stand can save you a lot of money in startup costs compared to traditional coffee shop startup expenses. In addition, if you pick the right location, you can generate just as much revenue as a regular coffee shop with a potentially less up-front investment.

Today, we hope to provide you with a deep look into what it takes to start a successful drive-thru coffee stand business. Specifically, we will discuss preliminary steps, startup costs, and recommendations to start a drive-thru coffee stand.

Dream of Your Coffee Stand Concept

There are many different types of drive-thru coffee stands. Some are stand-alone, hybrid coffee shops and drive-thrus, and some are mobile. You'll want to decide what makes sense for you. Take a moment and dream a little. What type of drive-thru coffee stand do you envision?

Write a Drive-Thru Business Plan

To start a drive-thru coffee shop successfully, you will want to write up a business plan. Your business plan will help you determine your concept, budget, and best location, among other things. 

A well-written business plan will guide your strategy by detailing the actions from everything from your menu, coffee equipment, location, and target market. 

Finding a great location will be the cornerstone of your drive-thru coffee business strategy. As such, you will want to ensure that your location is appropriately zoned for a food business and accessible to cars and pedestrian traffic.

Planning and preparing for your drive-thru coffee shop will be the foundation for everything you set out to do. The more you plan, the better your chances for success. 

So, with these elements in mind, let's get started!

How to Start a Drive-thru Coffee Stand

Photo credit: Alfiedude

Why Start a Drive-Thru Coffee Stand?

Lower costs, Healthy Profits, & High Demand

Opening a drive-thru coffee stand can be an excellent business opportunity, no matter where you live. From big cities to small towns, suburbs, and rural areas, a drive-thru coffee stand has the potential to be very successful. 

As a popular business concept, a drive-thru coffee stand business ranks high among our best low-cost coffee business ideas – as it's common to reach the same profitability as a traditional coffee shop.

Much like the hamburger roadside stands generations ago, a drive-thru coffee stand caters to the same demographic: people on the move.

Demographic studies indicate that busy coffee drinkers want to treat themselves to fast, convenient, low-cost splurges, even in a downward market. As a result, it makes complete sense to open a drive-thru coffee shop if the location is right. However, before you begin, you will need to know how to move forward and adequately plan in order to improve your chances of success.

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How to Start a Drive-thru Coffee Shop

Why Do Some Drive-Thru Coffee Shops Fail?

It's not because of their coffee.

One main reason coffee businesses often fail is due to a lack of planning. Unfortunately, coffee shop owners often fail to adequately plan their business from A to Z. A lack of preparation leaves them susceptible to common traps that can drive up costs, reduce sales, and increase headaches.

Compared to a traditional coffee shop, the lower-cost investment of a typical drive-thru coffee stand can feed one's overconfidence in executing one's business strategy.

In other words, many aspiring entrepreneurs can be seduced into thinking that no real planning is needed. Yet, this is far from the truth!

Unfortunately, many coffee shop owners believe they can simply “wing it” when starting a drive-thru coffee shop. Unfortunately, this fundamental assumption is what often leads to a variety of problems and eventual failure. 

A coffee business rarely fails because of its coffee.

Sometimes, serving your coffee is the easiest part. Unfortunately, failure commonly occurs due to operational knowledge, poor accounting, mismanagement, and insufficient funding. This is especially true for drive-thru coffee stand owners who too often start their business with a minimum budget. You will want to avoid these traps as you plan out your drive-thru coffee stand.

The Ultimate Guide to Start a Drive-Thru Coffee Stand

1. Determine Your Drive-Thru Coffee Shop Concept

What will your drive-thru coffee shop look like? What type of experience will your customers have? Developing your vision and concept of your drive-thru coffee stand will be a significant first step in answering these questions.

By writing your thoughts down on paper, you will mold your ideas into a cohesive coffee shop concept. 

When first thinking about your drive-thru coffee stand business, your thoughts may be all over the place. That’s okay! Write them all down—all of them. You will be able to come back later and sort out your ideas. But for now, write them down.

Pro Tip: Many thoughts you capture on paper will be used to build your coffee shop business plan shortly. So, keep your notes readily available. 

If you don't know where to start, consider visiting some local drive-thru coffee stands in your area. Pay attention to their location, coffee, food, and coffee branding.

Whether they are “family-friendly” drive-thru coffee stands or bikini barista coffee stands, you can learn a lot from visiting existing drive-thru businesses.

How to Start a Drive-thru Coffee Stand

2. Write a Coffee Shop Business Plan

Every successful business starts with a plan. Writing a well-written business plan before you begin a drive-thru coffee stand will better position you for success. It will only serve to help you develop, execute, and launch a coffee stand business the way you envision it to be.

Having a business plan will help you save money from the start, help you avoid mistakes, and ensure you cover everything. In addition, it will help streamline your efforts and spending.

For more information on how to write your coffee shop business plan, please read our article, How to Start and Write a Coffee Shop Business Plan.

3. Develop Your Drive-Thru Coffee Shop Menu

Your menu will decide how you will ultimately proceed when you start your drive-thru coffee stand.

Specifically, your menu determines your need for space, coffee equipment, workflow, and how many baristas you plan to hire.

Before choosing a location and a menu for your drive-thru coffee stand, you want to look at your future customers. Next, consider what you will sell to them. While serving coffee is high on the list, many drive-thru coffee stands have sophisticated menus. Your menu all depends on your location and target market’s needs.

Your coffee menu may also impact the permitting requirements necessary to operate your business. For example, frying fresh doughnuts sounds excellent, but it complicates your building code and permitting process.

Because of potential space and permitting limitations, you will probably be unable to bake your muffins or cook any of your products on-site. For example, you may want to offer soup and grilled sandwiches for lunch, but your space may not allow for that. In addition, your drive-thru space capacity may force you to get your products off-site or prepare them at your commercial commissary. 

Keep Your Menu Focused on Pleasing Customers

Offer a simple menu that caters to your customers and grows it from there.  For example, you may want to provide:

• Drip coffee
• Espresso-based drinks (Lattes, Americanos, & espresso shots)
• Cold-brew coffee
• Teas
• Energy drinks
• Non-caffeinated beverages
• Water and soda
• Prepackaged goods (muffins, cookies, bagels, etc.)

Once you determine who your customers are, you can deepen your drive-thru menu options. Muffins, scones, and cookies are popular drive-thru coffee stand options. These all go well with espresso-based beverages.

Other popular coffee drive-thru menu options are smoothies and energy drink-based beverages. Commercial blenders and ice machines may be added to your coffee equipment list to deliver these popular options. You can develop your menu to capture your afternoon and evening customers, including nitro coffee, cold brew, and ice cream. 

Coffee Shop Menu Tips:

When brainstorming your menu plan, write it down. In fact, write everything down. Creating a coffee menu plan will set the rest of your drive-thru coffee business in motion.

Heads up: Various county health departments may often require a complete menu and ingredients list from you before approval of your permit. If you offer certain products like soft cheese, ice cream, or fried items, your health department may categorize your business differently than if you were strictly serving espresso or smoothies. This new categorization may come with new or greater requirements to satisfy.

Create a Coffee Menu Board That Stands Out

Your drive-thru coffee shop menu is one way to differentiate yourself from competitors. If you are known to serve high-quality coffee and food that your local customers want, you'll be one giant step ahead of your competition.

To get started on your coffee menu, ask yourself:

• What will your customers get excited about?
• What will your business have that other coffee stands will not have?
• Are your menu options ultimately going to keep customers coming back?
• Can you find vendors to source your ingredients or finished products?

Remember, your coffee menu is an integral part of coffee business planning. If you need help or feel stuck with your menu decisions, consider visiting other coffee shops, drive-thru coffee stands, and coffee carts in your area. What are these drive-thru coffee stands serving that you like? Could you do a better job of serving a better product?

Read our article on How to Develop Your Coffee Shop Menu Board for more information.

How to Start a Drive-thru Coffee Stand

4. Find a Perfect Drive-Thru Coffee Stand Location

Start your search early for a drive-thru coffee stand location. It's no secret that when you start a drive-thru coffee stand business, your location means just about everything to your success.

The fate of your entire drive-thru coffee business will rest on you getting the most optimal location. Unfortunately, this isn't always easy.

Finding the right location actually depends on the following:

• Accessibility
• Thriving traffic
• Healthy customer base
• Monthly costs
• Zoning requirements
• Existing competition

In addition to healthy foot traffic and vehicles, you will want to look at factors that include competition, labor laws, taxes, and zoning requirements.

Complimentary Drive-Thru Coffee Stand Guide	Free PDF Download
	TIPS to start your DRIVE-Thru Coffee Stand

Convenience, Customer Safety, and Accessibility

The natural traffic flow during various times of the day will impact our location selection. Remember that convenience and accessibility is your primary selling point to your customers. People want to get in and out – and fast. Because of this, take a moment to consider how your customers will enter your drive-thru stand and how they will exit. Are both easy to do?

If they can easily enter your drive-thru entrance but have difficulty exiting due to heavy traffic or a design flaw, they will be less inclined to visit next time. Your drive-thru customers’ convenience and safety go hand in hand. Additionally, consider what a customer vehicle backup would look like. If you had four or five cars waiting in line, would they fit safely in your area?

You know from your own experiences that most people visit drive-thru coffee stands to buy convenient coffee when commuting to school, work, or running errands. Generally, people are in a hurry, so speed and convenience will be important to maintain for your customer base.

Additionally, you will also want to plan for walk-up customers. About 10% -30 % of drive-thru customers are on foot. You will want to ensure your pedestrian customers have a safe place to order, wait, and even enjoy their coffee.  This may mean you must design a physical barrier where customers can stand and wait for their orders.

Common drive-thru coffee stand locations:

• Empty parking lots
• Gas stations with extra space
• Empty commercial lots 

If you want to set up at a particular location, approach the property manager. You can do this by inquiring with local businesses already on or near the site. They can often provide you with the names and contact information of those managing the site. Before contacting them, consider reviewing your local zoning rules to see if they would work out. Also, consider the multiple layers of government agencies that will play a role. Individual cities, counties, and your state may all have some layer of influence over your drive-thru coffee stand.

A city’s business development office can help point you to the specific agencies involved. Seeking out this information as early as possible can save you a lot of time and headaches.

As mentioned, having the right location involves assessing your competition, the general market base, and your specific target customer. It will also require you to review the area's laws, taxes, regulations, and permitting requirements. All of these things will (or at least should) impact your final decision on where you decide to call your coffee stand business home.

Read our article Finding the Best Location for Your Coffee Shop for more information.

Start a drive-thru coffee stand

What's The Right Location for Your Drive-Thu Coffee Stand?

Choosing a Drive-Thru Coffee Shop Location

The perfect location for your drive-thru stand will find a sweet spot between your competitors, target market, zoning laws, and leasing terms. For example, for a drive-thru coffee stand, competitors could mean anything from a local coffee shop, fast food restaurants, a gas station, or other drive-thru coffee stands.

Other location issues: Depending on your municipality, you may need to offer parking and a certain amount of physical space for cars to turn around safely. Special parking and accessibility points may be required for disabled individuals.

Additionally, you may need to have a restroom or toilet access for your employees within a certain amount of feet. You should research all of these points regarding your specific state and city. You will want to check with your city's transportation department for any issue that impacts city streets.

Remember that premium coffee stand locations will cost more because of ideal traffic conditions, parking, visibility, access to water, the availability of electrical outlets, restrooms, and a commissary.

For further reading, read our article, 15+ Great Locations for a Coffee Shop.

How to Start a Drive-thru Coffee Stand

5. Your Drive-Thru Coffee Shop Competition

Sizing up the competition matters. Drive around and do a Google or Yelp search to find coffee shops, drive-thru coffee stands, and substitute businesses in your area. Substitute businesses are those like McDonald's, Denny’s and IHOP, etc.

What are these coffee businesses offering, and what can you add to your menu to help differentiate yourself from them?

Additionally, look at how the local customers behave during specific times of the day. For example, your drive-thru coffee stand may serve an entirely different crowd than the area's popular breakfast or brunch café. Of course, customers can be price-sensitive. But customers are also sensitive to convenience, menu options, and customer service. 

I recommend you analyze your competition within a 2-mile radius of your proposed location. For example, your drive-thru coffee shop competition may include:

Ask important questions regarding your competition:

• What is your competition doing right?
• What are they doing wrong?
• Where are their existing customers coming from?
• How can you better capture their attention?
• How can you differentiate yourself?

Your Competition Makes You Better

Figuring out your competition is critical to your drive-thru coffee stand success. So start analyzing your competition earlier in your planning. Visit them. Talk with them. Your competition isn't necessarily the enemy. Together you are likely part of a healthy market. Perhaps you can gain some vital information about the area and work with the city government and the community in general.

Competition does not necessarily mean a bad thing. Competition can mean a healthy and thriving local market. And a healthy market means profits for those that work to leverage their competitive advantage. So when you start a drive-thru coffee stand, expect competition and plan for it.

How to Start a Drive-thru Coffee Stand

6. Getting a Drive-Thru Coffee Stand Structure

Decide if you will build, rent, or buy your drive-thru coffee stand structure. Each option significantly impacts your overall startup budget, time constraints, and access to available supplies and contractors.

Building Your Drive-Thru Coffee Stand

Building a drive-thru stand structure is feasible and may be the most affordable option. But it also depends on the circumstances. For example, you will need access to the tools, equipment, and space for the build-out. Additionally, you will need to ensure the drive-thru structure is built according to your local building's department code.

Building code requirements ensure that the structure is safe to operate. If you are unsure how to start, contact your state’s buildings department for structure requirements before beginning any work. Unless you are a licensed electrician and licensed plumber, you also may need to hire a licensed contractor in your state to ensure the proper installation of wiring and plumbing is done for commercial use.

While building out your drive-thru coffee stand from scratch is a viable option, building it out completely may take a while. So, consider the time involved in building a well-built structure and moving it to your intended site. Alternatively, you can buy an RV trailer or food truck and build your drive-thru operation using a mobile vehicle.

Buying Your Drive-Thru Coffee Stand

Next, you can also choose to buy a drive-thru structure that is new or used. Buying an existing drive-thru stand can speed up the process of opening your coffee business. A variety of online websites and sites like Craigslist may feature drive-thru coffee stands for sale. Read our article on How to Buy a Drive-Thru Coffee Stand.

Several manufacturers of drive-thru coffee stands can either sell you a stock or “off the shelf” drive-thru structure or build you a customized stand for your particular property and needs. Of course, you will want to also budget for transporting and storing your drive-thru stand.

Read our article, How to Buy a Drive-Thru Coffee Stand Business, for more in-depth coverage.

Leasing Your Drive-Thru Coffee Stand

Renting out a drive-thru stand is also a common and lower-cost alternative to buying or building out your own stand. If you are renting your structure, you may have to rent at a specific site, or you may have to move to your location of choice. Remember that your rental may also need upgrades, such as lighting, electrical wiring, plumbing, and installation.

Any of these choices are valid options. However, I want to caution you again that you should check your local agency’s regulations before building, buying, or renting. Everything from the width of your door to the type of wire gauge you have installed, the number of sinks you have, and your ventilation system will need to be signed off.

How to Start a Drive-thru Coffee Stand

7. Find Your Coffee Vendors and Partners

If you have figured out your drive-thru coffee stand menu, you will know which vending partners to seek out to serve your customers best.

For example, if you plan to sell bagels, you will determine who can regularly provide you with a fresh assortment of wholesale bagels. Everything on your menu will require a wholesale source unless you make it yourself. 

Consider the following vendor questions:

• Where will you get your coffee from?
• Where will you get your muffins and doughnuts from?
• Which vendor will you get your paper cups, lids, and napkins from?

Developing professional relationships with your vendors or partners will be worthwhile. For example, choosing a wholesale coffee roaster will be a big decision for your coffee business. It takes time to visit with coffee roasters and determine what coffee blends are worthy of your business.

Aside from your labor, coffee, and rent, your supplies (such as lids, straws, napkins, plates, and cups) are among the biggest month-to-month expenses for a drive-thru coffee stand business. If you live in the U.S., you might decide to shop at a local Cash and Carry store, COSTCO, or another restaurant supply business. When you get your reseller's license, you can buy your inventory without paying sales taxes on those items – as long as its sole purpose is for your business.

For further reading, check out our article, How to Choose a Wholesale Coffee Roaster.

Are You Ready To Get Started?

How to Start a Drive-thru Coffee Shop

8. Choose Your Drive-Thru Coffee Shop Equipment

Your business cannot run without essential coffee equipment, from refrigerators to coffee grinders. Planning and budgeting for your coffee equipment purchases early. In doing so, you will feel more confident that you are choosing the right equipment at a good price.

There are several major pieces of equipment you will need to open a drive-thru coffee stand:

• Espresso Machine
• Coffee grinders
• Blenders
• Ice-machine
• Refrigerator

A Focus on Your Espresso Machine

Your espresso machine may be the most significant purchase. Choosing the right espresso machine means estimating your space, speed, and capacity to handle customers' busy rush hours.

Espresso machines come in one-group to four-group heads. A one-group espresso machine will take up less space and power but will only serve half the volume of a two-group espresso machine. If you have a four-group machine, you must consider the size but the practicality of baristas working around each other to pull espresso shots.

If you estimate having a bustling drive-thru coffee stand, you might consider getting 2 two-group espresso machines that your baristas can work around.

An espresso machine can be costly, depending on the brand, number of groups, and bells and whistles. While you want to be mindful of your budget, I recommend buying an espresso machine for which you can easily find replacement parts. Your espresso machine will also require maintenance from time to time. Consider the accessibility of spare parts for your espresso machine before buying one. If you can't find parts, you may have to buy another machine if it breaks down.

Your Coffee Equipment: Menu, Physical Space, and Budget

While your espresso machine may constitute the biggest cost investment, other coffee equipment will be just as vital to your operations. For example, investing in commercial-grade coffee grinders will determine the quality of your espresso shots. Usually, coffee shops and drive-thru coffee stands have at least two coffee grinders – one grinder for the espresso blend and decaf coffee beans.

I have used various coffee grinders, but I like the Jolly Mazzer or Super Jolly Mazzer because they are reliable, have great burr grinders, strong motors, and take up less room.  If you want to window shop coffee equipment, I would check out equipment vendors like Seattle Coffee Gear, Espresso Parts, and Webstaurantstore.com. 

You will also have a water heater, water filter system, refrigerator, blender, scales, and ice maker.

For more information on choosing the right coffee equipment, read our article, Coffee Shop Equipment You Need For Your Coffee Shop.

How to Start a Drive-thru Coffee Stand

9. Local Laws and Health Department Requirements

Knowing your local business requirements and regulations is critical to getting your drive-thru coffee stand business open successfully. In addition, knowing your requirements can save you lots of money in fees, fixing errors, and re-application costs.

Don’t be afraid to make calls to various departments. The few main departments you may need to work with are your buildings department, health department, and sometimes fire marshal office. Some communities compartmentalize municipal codes within these general departments.

Recommendation: You will be making repetitive calls, so start early and keep a list of who you need to call. Once you get a name and direct line, keep it!

If you have a free-standing drive-thru coffee stand, you will need a commissary and restroom facilities that satisfy your local health and building requirements – check that out, too. Every locale is different – but working with all these agencies is the same: stay focused, stay organized, and always follow up.

Talking with your local health department officials can really be helpful and informative. Don't be intimidated. Most of the time, these agencies are here to help you succeed.

10. Signing Your Drive-Thru Coffee Stand Property Lease

Unless you own a property zoned for a drive-thru business, you must rent the land to set up your drive-thru coffee shop.

Your leasing of the land allows you to operate your drive-thru stand in that specific location. Your lease may also allow you to have access to certain amenities like water, power, sewage, exterior lighting, parking spaces, and restroom access. Some properties may allow you to access the land but may not be hooked up to any utility company or access any nearby restrooms. You may have to pay to install the infrastructure to connect your utilities to get electricity, so consider the cost of this type of installation before you agree to a location.

Before signing your lease, consider the following:

• Property zoning
• Access to the city water lines
• Ability to connect to the power supply
• Close to restrooms
• Signage options

If you do not have water and power, you may still operate in the same manner as a coffee truck or mobile coffee unit. You would have to supply your water and power using freshwater containers and a gray water tank. A fuel-powered generator would generate the power supply. You want to know your ability to put up signs, billboards, or markers on your leasing property. Your signs will play an important role in attracting customers. Your leasing terms should be favorable and open to your ability to install signs. Realize that some cities may add on an extra occupancy tax for signs or have restrictions of their own.

How to Start a Drive-thru Coffee Stand

11. Hire Amazing Baristas

Hiring amazing baristas will be your secret weapon. The quality of your staff hiring will directly translate to the success of your business.

We encourage you to hire baristas for personality, trainability, and reliability rather than experience. Although experience is important, we believe that you can't train for personality. However, you can train for skills. Therefore, hiring bright, energetic, and personable employees is essential to your coffee stand's success. 

A good employee can help keep your business afloat. An excellent employee, however, can make your coffee business very profitable.

On the other hand, a horrible employee can slowly sink your coffee business into the depths of disaster. Theft or giving away drinks to friends, wasting drinks, practicing poor equipment maintenance, or delivering poor customer service can quickly spiral out of control.

Many coffee stand owners get everything right except hiring the right employees. Often, even if drive-thru coffee shop owners see potential problems with their employees, they put off dealing with it because they don't like to fire people or are afraid to be confrontational. 

Excellent Service Starts With Your Hiring Choices

Start a drive-thru coffee stand to provide excellent customer service with every transaction.

A drive-thru coffee stand business will set itself apart from the competition by its marketing, convenience, quality. Of course, your price point matters, too, but people on the road want their coffee fast and served in a manner they can’t get at home. Your goal as a drive-thru coffee stand owner is to consistently provide reasonably priced coffee with excellent service. This is what it's like being in the hospitality industry. Those who provide the best hospitality service will be better positioned to thrive. 

You can do this by decreasing your waste and generating efficiencies. Hiring great employees will be important to keep your prices low because it decreases waste and generates efficiencies. Additionally, training baristas can shave off important seconds per serving and boost the quality of each espresso beverage you serve.

Pro tip: Speed and accuracy are critical in running a drive-thru coffee stand. If you are running a very busy drive-thru, have one of your baristas take orders, work your coffee shop POS system, and prepare the paper cups and syrup shots while the other barista pulls shots and steams the milk. Having one barista work the money and keep your POS register clean and constantly wiped down with disinfectant will help move your customers out faster and safer.

How to Start a Drive-thru Coffee Stand

12. Build a Great Drive-Thru Coffee Shop Brand

Plan your coffee business marketing and outreach early. Not many coffee business owners actively think of having a marketing campaign, but it may be worth it.

The success of your marketing efforts will drive up business and brand awareness. To begin, create an attractive drive-thru brand with a catchy and appealing logo.

Many of your first-time customers will decide within seconds if they want to be your customer as they drive by. Consider a fresh paint job, trim any foliage, and make the exterior as bright and appealing to the customer’s eye as possible.

You want to create a brand that is attention-seeking. You want your customers to say: “Oh, I want to stop there for coffee!” Once you develop your coffee shop brand, you will want to protect it and develop it as your business evolves.

When marketing your drive-thru coffee stand, it’s not the time to be shy. Invest in bright, catchy signs and good lighting.

Additionally, relatively simple marketing actions can be easy to start.  Starting your own coffee shop website to help you get the word out, market to potential customers, and develop your branding platform are excellent examples. Setting up a coffee shop website is an easy, affordable, and very effective way to get your marketing off the ground.

13. Set a Date for Your Grand Opening

It's time to get excited!

Your drive-thru coffee stand Grand Opening will be an important event! Make it count! Your grand opening marks not the end – but the beginning of your business planning – and your coffee business success!

You don’t have to spend much money to make your coffee stand grand opening effective. You have to spend adequate time planning and utilizing the resources available to you.

Your grand opening can generate excitement, buzz, and sales! And that means profits! That means you have the ability to pay for your light bill!  Allow yourself to learn from your “soft opening.” Determine your weaknesses, strengths, and opportunities – and make the appropriate changes.

Take time to plan out your grand opening: You are, after all, announcing your baby project to the world! Talk to local newspapers, bloggers, and television stations. Buy balloons, signs, etc. Invite local schools, businesses, or groups to your drive-thru coffee stand grand opening.

How to Start a Drive-thru Coffee Stand

14. Strive Always to Be Better

Congratulations, you are well on your way to starting a successful drive-thru coffee stand business! While it will take a lot of planning, money, and effort to get this far. You will realize that this is where the fun starts! Operating a drive-thru coffee stand is a process.

There is always something to improve. Commit always to be better. To offer better service, pour better coffee and lower inefficiencies. Take the time to listen to your customers, employees, and the data telling you to increase your managerial skills. Sometimes, you will need to improve your customer service or make something right with the health department. Learn from each experience and strive to be better.

Starting an independent drive-thru coffee shop or a franchise is an available option for jumping into retail coffee. It's best to prepare yourself for either business concept.

How to Start a Drive-thru Coffee Stand

Additional Drive-Thru Coffee Stand Business Questions:

What are the special factors important to operating a drive-thru coffee stand?

To operate your drive-thru coffee stand, you will need a few things for you to deliver your coffee.

These items include:

• Power (electrical, gas, or propane)
• Water (plumbed or self-contained)
• Restrooms need to be available for you and your employees
• Commercial commissary (likely)
• Room for vehicles

WITHOUT these four basic listed items, you will not be able to serve coffee in many U.S. cities and counties.

If you have already considered several locations where you would like to set up your drive-thru,  you will have to determine whether or not you will have access to water and power. 

Does my drive-thru coffee stand need a commissary?

In nearly every potential location available to your drive-thru coffee stand, you will need a commissary agreement as mandated by your local health department. In addition, your menu often dictates if a commissary is needed. For example, if you bake your cupcakes or make your own hot sandwiches, you will need a commissary.

You may be able to avoid having a commissary if your drive-thru coffee stand by simplifying your menu. Your drive-thru stand must also be equipped with essential equipment, such as a three-compartment sink, a hand-wash sink, a mop sink, and enough hot water to rinse, wash, and sterilize your utensils and milk pitchers. 

Depending on where you are located, you may find a commissary nearby or have to look for one nearby. The type of commissary you need ultimately depends on what's on your coffee menu. For the most part, your commissary will require multiple sinks, a place to wash and sanitize your dishes and utensils, and prepare and store your food.

As you narrow down your location options and plan your coffee shop, make sure that these basic issues can be satisfied before you choose a spot. If they can’t be satisfied, look elsewhere. You can pay to rent commissary privileges at a commercial commissary or rent space from a  local restaurant or community kitchen.

How do I compete with the stiff competition?

Stay laser-focused on your customer.

By staying customer-focused (satisfying what they want and what they need and how they need it) then, your coffee business has an excellent opportunity to thrive in any competitive environment.

Lean on your competitive advantage.

As you develop your coffee business, you should figure out what will make your coffee business unique or special. Whether it’s the choice of your coffee beans, your drink options, or your customer service, you should focus on that “one thing” that makes you special.

Anticipate competition.

There will always be competition. Whether it’s an existing coffee shop, fast food place, or a new coffee business coming in. Competition is part of the game. This puts pressure on you to deliver delicious coffee and great customer service at a reasonable cost daily.

Additionally, anticipate that your competition will adapt to entering the “their” market. Whether they decide to lower prices, offer new products, or re-focus on their competitive advantage, you should know that your entrance will generate a response from your competitors.

Adapt to a changing market.

Whether you have a changing customer base or are experiencing new coffee trends and tastes, you must adapt. Change your menu. Update your seating layout. Offer a new choice, music, etc. Listen to your customers and what they are asking for. However, we recommend not adapting to be more like the competition. Instead, adapt to satisfy your customers.

Be thoughtful before choosing a coffee stand location.

Placing your drive-thru coffee stand business right in the middle of a major coffee chain location and a well-established independent coffee house may not be the best idea.

Ask yourself, are customers in this area looking for coffee? Are there their needs already being met in one way or the other?

How Much Will it Cost to Start a Drive-Thru Coffee Stand?

Your business concept, among other things, will determine the overall cost of your drive-thru coffee stand.   

Cost factors for your drive-thru coffee shop:

• Your concept
• Ideal location
• Size of your stand
• Cost of build-out
• Menu items (and coffee equipment)
• Lease terms

A drive-thru coffee shop business can cost between $15,000 to $250,000, depending on your business concept and how you plan on developing it. This is obviously a super-wide cost spectrum! 

However, as you develop your concept and business plan to complete it, the actual cost estimates will begin to shape.

Drive-thru coffee stands business startup costs vary depending on size, location, menu, and amenities. While opening a drive-thru coffee stand may not be as expensive as opening a new coffee shop from scratch, it can cost a substantial amount of money if you decide to “Go Big.”

Additionally, some costs can’t be avoided when starting any type of coffee business, including a drive-thru coffee stand. However, depending on your overall drive-thru coffee stand concept and location, you can significantly reduce your overall startup costs.

There are two general categories of costs for your drive-thru coffee stand:

• Startup Costs
• Operational Costs

Sample Drive-thru Coffee Stand Startup Costs:

These are just sample-scenario drive-thru coffee shop costs.

This general list does not include every one-time payment you may encounter. Additionally, the costs listed above may be higher or lower for your coffee stand business, depending on your concept, equipment needs, location, etc.

Your initial drive-thru coffee stand's startup costs will often be paid only once. This includes paying for your espresso machine, coffee grinders, or drive-thru coffee stand structure.

However, the payment method may require you to include them in your ongoing operational costs as well. For example, if you take out a loan for $10,000, you will most likely pay principal and interest every month on that loan for a given period of time. Therefore, that monthly interest will be included in your operational costs.

For more information, please read our article, Understanding the Costs of Starting a Coffee Shop.

Secrets For a Profitable Drive-Thru Coffee Stand

The following are tips to increase your drive-thru coffee stand sales, revenue, and profitability. Doing one or more of the following will help you achieve your revenue goals.

Eliminate Waste

Waste plays a big role in shrinking your profit margins. Wasting milk, coffee grounds, paper napkins, and cups can add up every day, week, and month. You’d be surprised at how much waste can be eliminated by looking at your workflow and how you and your baristas work. Training your baristas will help you eliminate waste and return your profit margins to your original estimates. 

Optimize your Scheduling

Hiring is a big role for any drive-thru coffee stand owner. Finding the right balance in hiring and scheduling your baristas is uniquely important, which will either optimize your customer service and revenue or drain your margins. Having a good coffee shop POS system will provide you with some data you’ll need to make these decisions.

Better Signage

Having colorful or eye-catching signage at well-positioned points can help to increase the flow of customer visits.

Customer Service

Delivering excellent customer service every time will drive repeat business. Customer service includes adequately training your employees and preparing them for high peak times that you will probably encounter.

Utilize Data

The data collected by your coffee shop POS system will help give you the information you need to make better decisions. Things like avoiding ordering items that don't sell or pricing out your items with better margins.

Start a drive-thru coffee shop

Your Drive-Thru Coffee Shop Is Waiting

Your Action Plan to Start a Drive-Thru Coffee Stand

Here are a few quick action steps you might consider taking to get your coffee stand business started:

1. Give your drive-thru coffee shop a name.

I believe that if you name something, it becomes real. So, take the first step in making your drive-thru coffee stand a reality and give it a name! 

2. Learn everything about retail coffee.

Learn from existing or former coffee shop and coffee stand owners. This is by far the best way to invest your initial time and effort. Introduce yourself and ask questions.  We make learning about opening your own coffee business very convenient in our Complete Coffee Shop Startup Kit.

3. Develop your drive-thru coffee stand planning.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What is your vision for your drive-thru coffee stand?
• What menu items will you serve? (Be specific)
• Where will your location be?
• Who are the competitors at your planned location?
• Which vendors will you be working with?
• What coffee equipment will you need?

4. Start writing your coffee shop business plan.

This step takes you from a coffee business “dreamer” to an actual coffee entrepreneur. To help you start your business plan, we offer a coffee shop business plan template in our Complete Coffee Shop Startup Kit. Additionally, you want to read How to Start Writing Your Coffee Shop Business Plan.

How to Start a Drive-Thru Coffee Stand

(A Summary)

There are plenty of steps to take when you start a drive-thru coffee stand. I recommend starting your drive-thru coffee stand by determining your vision. 

Remember:

• Look for opportunities
• Start small and then work your way out
• Plan before diving in

Many different drive-thru coffee shops can work, depending on your area. Let's summarize the steps to open a drive-thru coffee stand below:

• Determine your drive-thru coffee shop concept.
• Write a coffee shop business plan.
• Develop your drive-thru coffee shop menu.
• Find a perfect drive-thru coffee stand location.
• Consider your drive-thru coffee stand competition.
• Get your drive-thru coffee stand structure.
• Find your coffee vendors and partners.
• Learn about your health department's requirements.
• Sign your drive-thru coffee stand lease.
• Hire amazing baristas.
• Build a great drive-thru coffee shop brand.
• Set a date for your grand opening.
• Strive always to be better.

Are You Ready To Get Started?

How to Start a Drive-thru Coffee Shop

Coffee Shop Startups

Based in Seattle, Washington, USA, Coffee Shop Startups is dedicated to providing you with the most relevant information on how to start a coffee shop business successfully. Over the last 11 years, we've helped thousands of aspiring coffee business owners worldwide. We harness the experience, wisdom, and knowledge of many successful coffee shop owners to help you increase your chances of success and profits. We support business owners who want to start a coffee business by providing them with valuable information on starting their coffee business successfully.