- Boone County Planning Commission approved a 990-square-foot Dutch Bros drive-thru coffee shop on Mall Road in Florence.
- The proposal includes a traffic management plan to reduce potential drive-thru backups on the busy corridor.
- Dutch Bros joins 7 Brew and Biggby Coffee as drive-thru chains rapidly expanding across Northern Kentucky.
An Arizona-based coffee shop chain is opening a new location in Northern Kentucky.
In February, Dutch Bros requested a modification to the concept development plan for a 10.7-acre parcel at 7606-7654 Mall Road in Florence to construct a 990-square-foot coffee shop with a drive-thru. This was done through Village at the Mall Holdings LLC, a holding company based in Frankfort. Cincinnati-based planning and consulting firm McBride Dale Clarion represents the developer.
The development site is located directly off Mall Road, across the street from Guardian Savings Bank.
Dutch Bros is a drive-thru coffee franchise headquartered in Tempe, Ariz. Founded in Grants Pass, Ore., in 1993, the chain has ballooned to about 1,000 stores nationwide. Dutch Bros stores are generally prefabricated with a small layout and no indoor seating. The company is known for its large menu of customizable drinks centered around coffee and energy beverages.
After receiving approval from the planning commission’s zone change subcommittee on Feb. 18, the full planning commission approved the proposal on March 4.
Boone County Planner Steve Lilly said that the planning commission staff determined that the organization’s proposal aligned with the county’s future land use map and the development standards of the Mall Road Overlay District.
There were two attached conditions for the zone change: first, the project must adhere to the traffic management plan and updated sign package that were presented at the zone change committee meeting.
Because Mall Road is one of the busiest streets in Boone County, McBride Dale Clarion representative Jonathan Wocher presented a traffic management plan at the zone change committee meeting, calling for mitigation tactics such as increased signage, multiple drink runners and designated traffic coordinators to help reduce vehicle stacking in the drive-thru queue.
Increased traffic is often a common public complaint when it comes to drive-thru coffee chains. The Newport 7 Brew off Carothers Road has faced public scrutiny following reports of traffic backups caused by the store.
Second, the property’s dumpster enclosure must be constructed using the same materials and colors as the main building to maintain architectural consistency with the development.
Wocher told the planning commission that the developer agreed to the attached conditions.
“We did provide responses to the comments and questions from the public hearing and agreed to the conditions that were recommended by the committee,” Wocher said. “We would ask for your recommendation of approval.”
The county is becoming a hotbed for drive-thru coffee establishments. Last year, the Arkansas-based chain 7 Brew opened several stores across Northern Kentucky, including locations in Florence and Newport. Additionally, Michigan-based Biggby Coffee has expanded the number of its drive-thru-only stores in the region.