7 Brew targets a second St. Louis city location as drive-thru coffee footprint expands regionwide

A second proposed stand follows the chain’s 2024 entry into the city

7 Brew, a fast-growing, drive-thru-focused beverage chain, is preparing to add a second location inside the city of St. Louis, extending a buildout that has already spread across St. Louis County and nearby suburbs. The move would follow the company’s first city opening at 6536 Chippewa Street in St. Louis Hills, which began serving customers on Aug. 19, 2024.

The proposed second city shop remains in the planning stage, with site and permitting steps typical for small-footprint drive-thru projects. In other local jurisdictions, 7 Brew proposals have advanced through planning commissions and city councils as stand-alone developments, often involving redevelopment of existing commercial parcels and traffic-flow review tied to two-lane drive-thru designs.

What 7 Brew is building: small sites, high throughput

7 Brew’s model centers on compact “stand” buildings designed for speed and customization. Its menu extends beyond coffee into teas, lemonades, energy drinks, and other flavored beverages, supporting a high-volume drive-thru business that can fit on comparatively small lots. The approach has made the chain a frequent tenant in redevelopment sites where quick construction and vehicle circulation are key considerations.

• Drive-thru only format, typically with dual lanes
• Broad beverage menu, not limited to coffee
• Sites commonly placed along high-traffic commercial corridors

Local context: growth in the metro area and a closer look at traffic

While the city has one operating 7 Brew today, the broader St. Louis region has seen multiple proposals and openings in surrounding municipalities. Local approval processes have put recurring focus on traffic stacking, driveway placement, and how queues interact with nearby retail centers and arterial roads—issues that have shaped public discussion of drive-thru development more broadly.

In the city, the first location’s placement on Chippewa Street put the brand directly into an established commercial corridor. The second planned city shop would further test how the chain’s high-throughput model fits into St. Louis’ street network and parcel sizes, especially where redevelopment may compete with other retail and service concepts for limited land.

National expansion backdrop

The St. Louis addition comes during a period of rapid nationwide expansion for 7 Brew. The company began in Rogers, Arkansas, in 2017 and has scaled quickly through franchising and development agreements, reporting a steep rise in the number of operating stands across dozens of states by 2025.

Drive-thru coffee development has increasingly shifted from add-on service at larger cafés to stand-alone, purpose-built sites designed around vehicle circulation and speed.

What happens next

Before a second St. Louis city shop can open, the project will typically need to clear site-plan and building-permit steps and address any requirements tied to access, signage, stormwater, and traffic management. A construction timeline has not been finalized publicly, and an opening date will depend on approvals and buildout schedules.