Dutch Bros Coffee, a java chain with something of a cult following, wants to lock down its first suburban Chicago location in Naperville.
With stores already being built in Edwardsville and Urbana, company representatives will go before the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission Wednesday to present plans for a third Illinois location at 1230 S. Naper Blvd. in the Market Meadows shopping center off 75th Street.
The proposed 986-square-foot business would be consistent with other Dutch Bros locations, incorporating both drive-thru and walk-up window options, according to documents submitted to the city. It would feature an outdoor seating area and dual drive-thru lanes with a queuing capacity for more than 20 vehicles.
The company is seeking city approval for requests to amend the shopping center’s original planned unit development (PUD) as well as for preliminary and final plat approval. Commission members will review the project and make a recommendation to the Naperville City Council, which has final approval authority.
Dutch Bros started as a pushcart coffee operation in downtown Grants Pass, Oregon, in 1992, according to the company’s website. Franchising began in Oregon in 2000 and the company now has more than 1,000 locations across the country selling coffee, smoothies, energy drinks and sodas.
According to published reports, the chain has a devoted following who call themselves the “Dutch Mafia.” They have popularized drinks with such names as the Golden Eagle, the Caramelizer and the Annihilator and love to order secret menu items like the Cold Brew Kicker and Double Torture, according to a recent Parade magazine article.
If a revised PUD is approved by the council, the triangular-shaped parking lot site on which the business is to be built would mean the loss of about 39 parking spots. However, sufficient parking for shopping center customers would remain, company documents said.
According to a traffic study done for the proposed location, no changes would be needed for the shopping center’s entrances and exits. Customers would access the Dutch Bros’ store via the existing north-side drive aisle.
The study found that drive-through queues should not adversely affect traffic flow on the shopping center’s main drive aisles.
However, the study did note that demand is expected to be high in the first few months after opening because it will be Dutch Bros’ first location in the Chicago area. Its hours are expected to be 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
The chain has strategies to help mitigate traffic concerns, including having staff take orders and deliver drinks outside in order to speed up service and ease traffic flow and initially using off-duty police officers to direct traffic. Employees will regularly reevaluate traffic and make adjustments as necessary, the study said.
Naperville has already had a taste of the kind of business a drive-thru coffee shop can generate. Last fall, 7 Brew opened a location at Ogden and Iroquois avenues that has seen major success, often drawing long lines for a chain that boasts more than 20,000 unique drink options.
cstein@chicagotribune.com
