A national drive-thru coffee chain, offering more than 20,000 drink combinations, is expanding its footprint in the region.
A new location of 7 Brew, serving custom, hand-crafted coffee, teas and other drinks at drive-thru stands nationwide, will hold a soft opening 5:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 18, at 3045 N. Fifth Street Highway in Muhlenberg Township, Berks County, a company spokesperson said.
Plans have also been submitted for two new 7 Brew locations in Allentown - at 2952 Lehigh St. and 385 S. Cedar Crest Blvd.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Muhlenberg Township location will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, and will feature representatives from 7 Brew and the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance sharing remarks about the brand’s growing presence and how it will benefit the city.
To celebrate the opening, 7 Brew Reading will present a check to Helping Harvest in line with the brand’s core value of cultivating kindness in the community.
The Muhlenberg location’s next step will be to host a Swag Day on Aug. 23, where customers who purchase a large drink will get a free 7 Brew T-shirt.
The Muhlenberg location's building was moved by crane and placed on its foundation in June.
The new stand, the fifth 7 Brew location in Pennsylvania, will be operated by Brew Team Group, a franchisee of 7 Brew.
It will be the chain's second Berks County location, supplementing a 7 Brew stand that opened in 2023 at 3582 Penn Ave. in Sinking Spring.
7 Brew, with more than 400 stands across the country, originated in 2017 with a single stand in Rogers, Arkansas.
The name is a nod to the business' seven original coffees: Blondie (vanilla and caramel breve), Brunette (hazelnut and caramel mocha), Smooth 7 (Irish cream and white chocolate breve), Cinnamon Roll (brown sugar cinnamon and white chocolate breve), White Chocolate Mocha (white chocolate and milk chocolate mocha), German Chocolate (coconut and caramel mocha) and Sweet & Salty (salted caramel and white chocolate breve).
"7 Brew was born from a desire to change drive-thru coffee into a fun, mind-blowing experience for everyone," a message on the business' website reads. "We dreamed of serving premium coffee in record time and making new friends while we're at it."
In addition to the "seven originals," customers also can enjoy "classics" such as iced or hot lattes, mochas, breves, caramel macchiato, house blend, chai tea, matcha, cocoa or cappuccino. There are also seasonal selections.
Drinks can be customized with extra espresso, sweetness levels, milk alternatives and more.
About 30 syrup flavors include selections such as blackberry, chocolate macadamia nut, guava and toasted marshmallow, and customers also can choose sauces such as caramel, dark chocolate and white chocolate.
Other menu highlights include 7 Energy drinks, 7 Fizz drinks (sparkling water infused with any flavor), fruit smoothies, shakes and hot and iced teas.
7 Brew, which aims to "make your visit the happiest part of your day," is looking to further expand its presence in Pennsylvania.
The first Lehigh Valley locations of 7 Brew have been proposed in Allentown at 2952 Lehigh St., immediately north of a McDonald's restaurant, and 385 S. Cedar Crest Blvd., at the site of a former Boston Market in The Shops at Cedar Point.
The Lehigh Street location is proposed for a property currently home to Rice Family, a restaurant offering Chinese and Japanese cuisines.
At Tuesday's Allentown Planning Commission meeting, franchise partner Travis Odom presented plans for the proposed Lehigh Street location, which would have three drive-thru lanes accommodating up to 39 vehicles.
The project calls for a 540-square-foot premanufactured building with a 280-square-foot remote cooler/storage structure, canopies, a dumpster enclosure and associated site improvements.
The commission expressed concerns regarding potential traffic issues along with potential noise and lighting disturbances to residential neighbors, voting to table the Lehigh Street location's plans and allow Odom to return for a future meeting to address the concerns.
At Tuesday's meeting, Odom noted that 7 Brew stands are not typical drive-thru locations as there are no speaker boxes. Instead, customers place orders one-on-one with workers who hold iPads to collect the information.
"The best way we like to describe it is if Chick-fil-A and Starbucks were married and had a baby, that's us," Odom said.
Stands aim to get customers their orders in four minutes or less, and the Lehigh Street location would typically use only two lanes and would have a maximum of 14-16 cars in line during its busiest times, Odom said.
The proposed Lehigh Street stand also would feature a walk-up area for individuals not driving a vehicle as well as individuals driving a vehicle that's unable to fit under the canopy, Odom said.
Commission members expressed concerns regarding possible traffic congestion and dangerous driving conditions resulting from individuals entering from and exiting to Lehigh Street, which features a center turn lane.
Current plans include one exit lane to Lehigh Street, and the city planning office recommended right-in, right-out access.
The recommendation was mainly driven by difficulty making left turns in and out of the property.
"There's a comment about the right-in, right-out only," Odom said. "If that is going to be required, then this will automatically kill this project."
7 Brew has already satisfied requirements from PennDOT, which found full access to the site to be suitable, Odom added.
Multiple commission members brought up the idea of creating two designated exit lanes - one for left turns and one for right turns - as a possible improvement to the plan.
"I like the idea of having two exit lanes and one entrance lane," commission Chairman Christian Brown said. "I think that could potentially make things work a lot better for you and your customers."
“This is a high-crash corridor that’s been designated on the regional plans,” Planner Craig Beavers added.
“Especially, the city’s doing a lot of Safe Streets and Vision Zero policies. We want to try and reduce the accidents that occur from turning there. So, whatever you can [do] to have some separate egress from the site, that would allow minimal accidents as possible.”
Planner Jeff Glazier noted customers of businesses across the street from the proposed 7 Brew location have multiple ways to get back onto Lehigh Street, including exiting onto 29th Street or taking a back road to 31st Street. Traffic lights are situated at both of those intersections.
"You guys don't have that option, and that's something that concerns me," Glazier said.
Planner Leslie Hartzell, who travels that stretch of Lehigh Street often, backed up Glazier's concerns.
Hartzell noted that when she leaves the Sheetz gas station and convenience store across the street from the proposed 7 Brew location, she makes it a point to exit the business via the 29th Street intersection with a traffic light as opposed to another Lehigh Street access point without a traffic light because she finds it "very challenging to cross back in there" due to heavy traffic conditions.
Commission members also requested more written details regarding mitigation efforts related to possible sight and sound pollution.
Strong buffers, including new vegetation, would prevent disturbances to residential neighbors, commission members said.
“I think if we get more documentation and information surrounding how specifically those potential impacts will be addressed, I think the planning commission would have a greater comfort level,” Gomez said.
Plans for a second Allentown 7 Brew location, proposed for 385 S. Cedar Crest Blvd., will be reviewed at a future Allentown Planning Commission meeting.