# Dopers living outside the Pacific Northwest, how common are drive-through espresso stands? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 28, 2017, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551 "2017-09-28T23:08:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/21 "2017-09-29T19:43:13Z")
The occasional Starbucks has one, but most don’t. I can’t think of another coffee chain that has them at all. This is in the suburban Bay Area. ETA: on second thought, I have seen a few others. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/22 "2017-09-29T20:27:39Z")
Maine and NH have Aroma Joe’s. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/23 "2017-09-29T20:35:53Z")
Here in Sacramento, I think there used to be one or two…but I don’t recall seeing them for a few years now. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/24 "2017-09-30T00:48:54Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I’ve found a Dutch Bros. kiosk as far south as Woodland, California, just outside Sacramento. When traveling south to north, it gives me hope that I will make it home soon. Dutch Bros. are exploding in Sacramento area, as are independent drive thrus. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/25 "2017-09-30T01:00:42Z")
You are talking about the little tiny freestanding huts that you see in parking lots around here, right? I had never seen one before we moved to Seattle. I grew up in northern California and lived in the Boston area for 17 years before we moved here. We call them “coffee shanties.” Some have baristas in bikinis. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/26 "2017-09-30T01:01:40Z")
We have one in my town! Used to have two, but one closed. The one that’s open has been around for years, and I have no reason to think it’s not doing well. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/27 "2017-09-30T01:13:46Z")
Colorado Springs has several Dutch Bros. locations, as well as several local ones. Interestingly, a fairly high percentage of the local ones are the bikini variety. That might be an interesting sub-question: How many cities have bikini coffee shops? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/28 "2017-09-30T02:01:24Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Colorado Springs has several Dutch Bros. locations, as well as several local ones. > > Interestingly, a fairly high percentage of the local ones are the bikini variety. That might be an interesting sub-question: How many cities have bikini coffee shops? [We do!](http://www.bikinibeansespresso.com) ---
**Author:** ![Trafalgar\_Laura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trafalgar_laura/32/2907_2.png) [@Trafalgar\_Laura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trafalgar_Laura)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/29 "2017-09-30T03:03:45Z")
There are a handful here in Austin. Drive-through coffee/espresso shops, not bikini drive-throughs. 😃 At least, that I know of. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/30 "2017-09-30T05:57:03Z")
Just to be clear, for those mentioning Starbucks drive throughs, I think the OP is referring to those stand alone shed like kiosks that you drive past. Not a bigger coffee shop that happens to have a drive through. I’ve lived in four US states, and Washington was the first I saw of them, at least in quantity. They’re very common here, even out in the sticks. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/31 "2017-09-30T06:12:15Z")
Never heard of them in my parts of Asia. Personally, I’m waiting for the driveup caffeine IV drip. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/32 "2017-09-30T11:25:46Z")
I haven’t seen one in the DC area. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/33 "2017-09-30T19:15:17Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > …or slugs the size of minivans. I’m in Oregon (and hence ineligible for the OP’s query), but I also note the dramatic fall off in these when I travel away from home. You only have to go as far as about Idaho before they become rare. There’s a fair number of coffee shops (some with drive thrus) near my parents’ home in Minnesota, but they’re pretty much all either Starbucks or Caribou Coffee\*, probably because they need a more expensive permanent facility for heating in MN. > > - At about 1% the size of Starbucks, the _second_ largest coffee chain in the US. I can’t speak for the rest of Idaho, but in the Treasure Valley (Ontario Oregon to Mountain Home Idaho) independent and Dutch Bros coffee stands are everywhere. There used to be a couple of the bikini variety but they closed years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/34 "2017-10-01T02:15:35Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Dutch Bros. are exploding in Sacramento area, as are independent drive thrus. Pretty much exactly what I was going to write. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/35 "2017-10-01T02:18:50Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > What part of Idaho? Drive-through stands are pretty common in the Coeur d’ Alene area and the rest of the northern part of the state. > [@guestchaz](#): > > I can’t speak for the rest of Idaho, but in the Treasure Valley (Ontario Oregon to Mountain Home Idaho) independent and Dutch Bros coffee stands are everywhere. I usually end up going the southern route (Boise/ID Falls), and I’m usually on the Interstate for long amounts of it, so maybe I’m just not seeing them. I think Dutch Bros is eliminated as part of the OP’s “large chain” prohibition, though. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/36 "2017-10-01T05:03:41Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > I usually end up going the southern route (Boise/ID Falls), and I’m usually on the Interstate for long amounts of it, so maybe I’m just not seeing them. I think Dutch Bros is eliminated as part of the OP’s “large chain” prohibition, though. OP here. I’ll allow Dutch Bros. because, for the most part, they’re still a regional chain. However, because of their fast growth outside the PNW, they’re borderline. International mega-chains like Starbucks are out. Anyway, just from my personal observation driving south on US 101, drive-through espresso stands remain a common roadside presence as far south as the Eureka/Arcata area on the California coast. Driving south on I-5 is a different story since they seem to peter out around Dunsmuir. By the time you hit Redding, the only drive-through coffee places are Starbucks and Dutch Bros. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/37 "2017-10-01T05:18:45Z")
I can’t think of any in Northern Nevada. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/38 "2017-10-01T05:21:49Z")
None known in Hawaii. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/39 "2017-10-01T06:20:08Z")
Inspired by this post I googled coffee shops in Lexington and found a list of “The 13 best coffee shops in Lexington.” Since two were branches of Starbucks, two were a local donut chain, one was a bookstore and three were actually restaurants (The Olive Garden? Seriously?), I suspect that "the best’ can safely be interpreted as “any place in town with an espresso machine.” I’ve no idea why McDonalds didn’t make the cut. The five _actual_ indie coffee places (is “Uncommon Grounds” a sparse chain or just overused as a name?) are student hangouts rather than kiosks, and none offer drive-thru service. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551/40 "2017-10-01T07:24:50Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > I usually end up going the southern route (Boise/ID Falls), and I’m usually on the Interstate for long amounts of it, so maybe I’m just not seeing them. I think Dutch Bros is eliminated as part of the OP’s “large chain” prohibition, though. Ah, well, if you got off in Nampa at Garrity Blvd, exit 38, there is a Moxie Java drive through and walk up, but not walk in (I think)which is a regional chain I believe (used to be a bikini drive thru) not far off the freeway, lets see, there is at least one on ID69 about a mile south of the interstate if you get off at exit 44 and another if you get off at 44 and drive down Overland Rd parallel to the interstate to the Eagle interchange (entrance/exit 46) those are just the ones physically closest to the interstate that show up on a search of google maps. Lots of Moxies, Flying M, Human Bean, and Dutch Bros (local and regional chains) and plenty of independent single store places. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-living-outside-the-pacific-northwest-how-common-are-drive-through-espresso-stands/797551.md?page=3)