Which type of drive thru is best?

[kalik1966]

I'm wondering if I should have a drive thru designed and then built by a contractor or go with a "pre-fab" design like Mountain Mudd. I know the layout is critical and I don't have experience but feel that I could get the information here and elsewhere to design the layout correctly. Any suggestions which way to go?

 

[Coffee Guy]

Hi kalik1966:

First of all I wouldn't go with the Mountain Mudd building, if you are interested in doing a drive thru building contact me through email off this forum and I will send you information on our buildings, and you will have your own identy instead of some one elses. In addition we offer you the full support including training, consulting, equipment and coffee for a super competitive price. Your investment will not be wasted with us. Email me today.

 

[coolbeans]

Costs

What a thrill to find this forum. Thank you all for your input.

I am in the research stage and am trying to get a realistic start up cost. I am sure that the "manufactured' drive-thru's vary greatly in price but could someone give me some general ideas?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ldockall]

I went with Mountain Mudd. You are looking at roughly 70K for startup costs.

Larry

 

[Rowley]

How was your experience with Mountain Mudd?

 

[ldockall]

It has gone well so far. They have been very helpful on the permitting side of things. I didn't realize how many hoops you have to jump through to get an 8x8 foot building approved by the city. I should be opening around the first of July if all goes as planned.

 

[Rowley]

best of luck for you ldockall.

 

[Coffee Guy]

Hi ldockall:

I'm just wondering, you mentioned approximate $70K as start up costs for the drive thru? What did that include? An 8X8 is just about the size of a photo mat building. That's pretty small :wink: Am I to assume this $70K included both hard and soft costs? Or were there other costs involved on top of that amount? What about opening inventory and equipment, etc.? Are you hard plumbed or tanked? How about the location, is it a good one? Training and on-going consulting provided?

Just a few questions I thought I'd ask for the benefit of those looking to get started in this industry and wish to move forward. :wink:

 

[ldockall]

Yes, 8x8 is pretty small. It is a double drive-thru, big enough for 2 people to work comfortably. That price included all equipment (group 3 machine, grinder, fridge, granita), signage and inventory. It is not hard plumbed, I have a fresh and gray water tank.

Is my location good? Guess I'll find out when it opens next month. :wink:

 

[ra2783]

Does anyone have any information on Java Jo'z drive-thrus? I'm thinking of starting a drive-thru in the Dallas area. Any other drive-thru operators out there from the Dallas area?

 

[ldockall]

I looked at Java Jo'z but ended up going with Mountain Mudd instead. They were a little cheaper and had sold a lot more kiosks than JJ's. There's a lot of bad blood between those two companies - lawsuits, etc.

 

[ra2783]

Thanks Idockall. JJ's is twice the price as Mountain Mudd and includes Larger building (8' x 24'), training, initial inventory and hard connections to water, sewer, electric...just in case someone was wondering. I've been researching for about 3 months now. I have a decent location picked out (about 43,000 traffic count) but have not decided on a kiosk or coffee vendor.

 

[Coffee Guy]

Hey ra2783:

Congrats on your decision on wanting to open a drive thru. Rather than doing a commercial about us here I'd like to ask you to send me a pm and we can discuss how we can fulfill your needs. :wink:

 

[Polo]

We used Classic Trolley in Medford, OR. Was it cheap? Not necessarily. Did we get a distinctive looking structure? Definitely!

 

[kresha31]

I'm going to open a drive thru coffee place. What do you guys think about Jave Grande, Java Jo'z, Moutian Mudd, and Mudhen Espresso.
Has anybody done business with these companies? If so, can you give your experience on anhy of these companies.