Drive-thru coffee chain eyes second State College area location. See early plans
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- 7 Brew intends to build a new drive-thru coffee shop in State College.
- The potential site would put 7 Brew outside the Nittany Mall and Happy Valley Casino.
- The sketch plan is not considered a formal proposal.
A drive-thru coffee shop chain is planning another location in State College.
7 Brew is working to open a new shop in a parking lot near the Nittany Mall, according to a sketch plan submitted to College Township. The new location would sit in what is currently a parking lot adjacent to the nearby McDonald’s and across the private drive from the recently opened Happy Valley Casino.
Brew Team Group, the franchisee representing another State College 7 Brew shop, has already negotiated a letter of intent with Namdar Realty Group, owner of the Nittany Mall, to plan a location for the nearby parking lot. Brian Evans, 7 Brew’s director of entitlements, said the company is finalizing a lease there, according to a letter included in Thursday’s College Township council meeting agenda packet.
7 Brew plans to construct its standard 510-square-foot shop at the College Township site, along with parking spaces for employees and dual drive-thru ordering lanes to aid speedy service. The company uses prefabricated buildings to quickly expand.
Each shop offers made-to-order beverages, including coffee, tea, smoothies, shakes, energy drinks, hot chocolate and more. 7 Brew shops do not sell food and primarily operate using drive-thru lanes only.
The company tends to hire dozens of part-time workers while preparing to open its shops, which can employ nearly 20 people per shift on busy days. New locations are usually projected to create at least 50 part-time jobs.
7 Brew expanded to Centre County in December when it opened a drive-thru shop in the Hills Plaza shopping center along South Atherton Street. The fast-expanding company has more than 700 franchises across the U.S., including 15 in Pennsylvania.
The drive-thru coffee company has long viewed State College as a prime expansion target for Pennsylvania. Matt Peters, 7 Brew’s director of operations for Pennsylvania and northern Delaware locations, said more Centre Region locations would likely be in the works if the company’s first shop in the area hit the ground running.
“It’s a great market, and that’s undeniable. It’s a market we’ve been trying to get to,” Peters said last September. “We thought State College would be a good fit for the overall economics but also a positive light and business in the community to continue spreading joy and happiness and a different drive-thru experience no one else has seen.”
The submission of sketch plans, including this plan for a new 7 Brew shop, is voluntary and generally used to generate feedback before project officials submit formal land development plans.
College Township’s next council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at the township municipal building at 1481 E. College Ave. in State College. The meeting is available on Zoom and through C-NET’s YouTube channel. C-NET will archive the recording on its website for later viewing.
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