Coffee lovers, by the end of the year, will have yet another place in Northwest Indiana to buy their favorite brew.
The Hobart Plan Commission, during a special Wednesday morning meeting, approved a site plan for a new 7 Brew on U.S. 30 north of Southlake Mall.
The drive-thru coffee house will take over the property previously occupied by TGI Fridays, which closed five years ago, said petitioner James Hus of the DVG Team.
The 1.16-acre lot, zoned PUD, is located at the northeast corner of U.S. 30 and Iowa Street.
Typically, 7 Brew is able to go from shovels in the ground to customers with drinks in their hands in about 17-19 weeks, a company spokesperson said at the meeting.
With that timetable in mind, the company is hoping to open the Hobart drive-thru by the end of the year. Hobart City attorney Heather McCarthy said the petitioners will need to provide the city with an approval letter from NIPSCO since a NIPSCO line that bisects the property is owned by that utility.
According to its website, 7 Brew is an American chain of drive-thru-only coffee houses founded in Rogers, Arkansas, in 2017.
There are presently 500 coffee houses in 38 states with several in Northwest Indiana, including Merrillville, Dyer, Valparaiso and Crown Point.
The Portage Plan Commission earlier this spring also approved plans for a 7 Brew in that city.
The company’s name is derived from its original menu, including seven different coffee drinks, but the number has since expanded.
Other drinks served include teas, energy drinks, matchas, lemonade, shakes, sodas and smoothies.
In other business, the Plan Commission approved preliminary plat approval on a 2-lot subdivision with a Family Express gas station to be built on one of the two lots.
Plans are also to build a stormwater/detention pond to the west of the Family Express on the other lot.
The proposed business will be located at the corner of U.S. 30 and Grand Boulevard, said Hus, also petitioner for that project.
The planned Family Express will be a new prototype store which will include all the amenities, such as the convenience store and carwash, found in present locations and more.
“We’re looking to expand our footprint,” Hus said.
Family Express was founded in 1975 when owner Gus Olympidis opened his first convenience store on the west side of Valparaiso.
There are currently 81 businesses throughout Northwest Indiana and North Central Indiana, according to the Family Express website.
Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
