Popular drive-thru coffee chain 7 Brew continues its rapid South Jersey expansion with a proposed new location in the West Berlin section of Berlin Township along Route 73.
With more than 700 drive-thru coffee stands across the United States and an aggressive growth strategy focused on the New Jersey and Philadelphia markets, 7 Brew has quickly built a loyal following throughout South Jersey. The menu features coffee, energy drinks, sodas, smoothies, shakes, teas, and lemonades, with more than 20,000 possible drink combinations.
Each grand opening typically includes an extended free drink promotion, followed by long drive-thru lines as local customers eagerly try the rapidly growing coffee chain.
7 Brew Coffee recently opened Egg Harbor Township location
Proposed West Berlin Location
For Berlin Township, 7 Brew is proposing one of its signature drive-thru-only coffee stands in front of the Walmart on Route 73, utilizing a portion of an underused parking area along the property’s road frontage. The new building would sit directly next to the AtlantiCare Urgent Care facility.
Effectively this proposed location will put 7 Brew directly next to an existing Dunkin. While there are similarities with coffee and drink menus, Dunkin also adds donuts and sandwiches and offers indoor seating. 7 Brew focused on the streamlined drink menu offering and drive-thru only (no indoor seating)… also changing things up with extended hours, open early mornings until 10pm.
The 7 Brew team is seemingly very confident in their brand as their Rio Grande location opened immediately next to a Starbucks.
The Berlin Township tax parcel which includes the urgent care center extends south to the existing stormwater retention basin. The current 3,708-square-foot AtlantiCare building will remain in place and continue operating, while a portion of the excess parking area would be redeveloped for the new 7 Brew location.
I have not yet seen the complete site plan, but with the Planning Board hearing scheduled for next week, I wanted to share the project details as they become available.
This would be the first 7 Brew for the very busy Route 73 corridor which in the immediate area also offers ShopRite and Home Depot. This area is easily accessible from Voorhees, Marlton, The Berlins, Gibbsboro and more.
On Monday, July 21, at 5:30 p.m., the Berlin Township Planning Board will hold a public hearing at the municipal building. The South Jersey franchise operator for 7 Brew will be seeking preliminary and final major site plan approval, along with several requested variances.
7 Brew Streamlined Business Model
7 Brew has developed a business model that focuses on streamlined process in all aspects of the business… find what you do best, and stick with it!
As mentioned the focus only on coffee and other flavored beverages which provides fast customer service as there are no longer waits for food preparation/cooking.
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A signature aspect of the brand is its drive-thru-only business model, which caters to today’s on-the-go customers while allowing for much smaller buildings than traditional coffee shops. The streamlined design also reduces development costs, making it easier for the company to expand into high-traffic commercial corridors.
Because they do not offer indoor seating they are able to develop smaller buildings which enable them to target development sites that other brands may not fit into.
This development model has been extended into further reducing development timelines and costs by them manufacturing the core portion of the building offsite, delivering to the location, and installing with a crane!
7 Brew Continues Rapid South Jersey Growth
As mentioned, South Jersey has become a major focus for 7 Brew’s expansion plans.
Since opening its first New Jersey location in Washington Township (Turnersville) last April, the company has expanded with additional locations in Sicklerville, Blackwood, Rio Grande, and Egg Harbor Township.
Just yesterday, I wrote about the upcoming Lawnside location, where an old gas station was demolished last week to make way for construction. That location will be built in front of Home Depot along the White Horse Pike.
Additional locations are also planned for:
Voorhess Laurel Road , across from Edge Fitness.
Lumberton on Route 38, where the project continues working through the NJDOT permitting process.
Vineland on Landis Avenue, where another former bank property will be redeveloped into a 7 Brew location, once again positioned near a Walmart.
The team behind 7 Brew appears to be carefully targeting high-traffic retail corridors throughout South Jersey. They also seem willing to invest heavily in acquiring prime commercial properties and, in several cases, demolishing obsolete buildings to make way for new construction.
The company’s strategy has clearly been successful.
When the Turnersville location opened last year—the first 7 Brew in New Jersey—customers waited in exceptionally long drive-thru lines which continued for weeks. Even today, despite additional nearby locations opening in Blackwood and Sicklerville, the brand continues to attract a strong and loyal customer base throughout the region.
Links and Location
7 Brew Coffee – Proposed for Berlin Township
255 Route 73 North
West Berlin (Berlin Township), NJ