Drive-Thru 7 Brew Coffee Planning Up to Nine Brevard County Locations

customer engagement – along with seriously good coffee and other drinks – are commandments for service

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Combine the “where everybody knows your name” camaraderie immortalized in the television classic “Cheers” with a drive-thru coffee concept that boasts tasty caffeine boosts and more, and you get the idea behind 7 Brew, Brevard’s latest go-to coffee shop.

“You leave smiling,” said Landon Beeler, manager of 7 Brew’s Melbourne location, the franchise chain’s first foray into the Florida market.

Forget disinterested servers who sullenly deliver coffee orders. These don’t exist at 7 Brew, where customer engagement – along with seriously good coffee and other drinks – are commandments for service.

“Every single person who works with us is a “people” person,” said Beeler.

Beeler grew up in Arkansas, where 7 Brew originated.

“My mother said I should apply for a job with 7 Brew and I did,” said Beeler, who started as a “brewista” in 2019.

He loved people but had little experience in coffee; 7 Brew administration nevertheless spotted Beeler’s potential.

“7 Brew taught me everything,” said Beeler, who is now helping local franchisee Brew Horizons establish the brand’s presence from Titusville to Key West.

The Space Coast was selected for the first 7 Brew in Florida because of the area’s growth.

“We wanted a location that would embrace a fresh and new concept,” said Beeler.

The Melbourne coffee stand at 1809 S. Harbor City Blvd., adjacent to the Wawa near the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 1 and SR 192, opened Dec. 12 of last year, followed by sister stand at 5450 Murrell Rd. in Viera on Jan. 9th.

A third stand will soon follow at 6315 N. Wickham Rd. in Melbourne. In total, up to nine Brevard locations are on the drawing board as Brew Horizons winds its way south with their coffee concept.

“There is no stopping us,” said Beeler.

Such quick turnaround in establishing new locations is possible thanks to the brand’s formula of 500-square-foot prefabricated stores, each with double drive-thrus with canopies. A walk-up window caters to pedestrian traffic, but there is no indoor seating.

The design allows customers speedy access to their brews, but not without considerable brew crew interaction that stresses a friendly, personalized experience for each customer.

“I like to say that customers come for our people and leave with coffee,” said Beeler.

The company’s philosophy of kindness also encompasses its team members and creates one of the best employee-oriented cultures in the industry. Labor shortages may exist, but jobs at 7 Brew are so desirable that 600 individuals applied for the 40 jobs available at the first Melbourne stand.

“It’s very easy for team members to buy into the concept, so we didn’t have a problem hiring good employees,” said Beeler.

With energizing music to accompany them as they work, brew crews personally – and cheerfully – deliver drinks to customers as they make their way down the drive-thrus. The company website notes it “has started a revolution to bring the fun back” to the industry and that no “party poopers” need apply.

“It’s a blast for the customer and the team,” said Beeler.

The energy and happy vibes of the stands appeal to both young and old, even though the company expected a major portion of customers to fall within the 18-to-35 age bracket.

Extended hours cater to early birds and night owls alike. 7 Brew is open from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and until 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

7 Brew has come a long way from the single ma-and-pa stand that opened in 2017 in Rogers, Arkansas.

In six years, the brand has mushroomed to 69 locations in Texas, Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Georgia and North and South Carolina, in addition to Florida.

More than 150 of the beverage stands are planned from the Space Coast to Miami in the next ten years.

The company is named for seven original brews, which remain its mainstay and are available hot, iced or as a chiller.

Blondie is the caramel and vanilla breve; the hazelnut and caramel mocha Brunette; Smooth 7, the white chocolate and Irish cream breve; the white chocolate and brown sugar cinnamon of Cinnamon Roll; White Chocolate Mocha with white and milk chocolate; German Chocolate, coconut and caramel mocha, and the eye-popping Triple 7 with six espresso shots.

Classic lattes, mochas, breves, macchiatos and the house blend coffee are also in the menu, as are teas, 7 Energy drinks, flavor-infused 7 Fizz sparkling water, smoothies, Italian sodas and shakes, plus kid-sized Fizz, cocoa and smoothies. Thirty distinct syrups, from Irish Cream to kiwi, plus three different sauces make for thousands of possible combinations.

“We can make anything you drink from a straw,” promised Beeler.

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