Gainesville Starbucks customers can drive through for their brew starting in a few months.
Butler Plaza announced in January the opening of a new Starbucks with a drive-thru, expected to open in late May next to Which Wich, Gigi’s Cupcakes and BurgerFi.
It will be the second Starbucks on Southwest Archer Road but the only one with a drive-thru. The current Starbucks location next to Panera Bread and Moe’s is listed for lease online.
Butler Enterprises spokeswoman Kristin Mamula wrote in an email that the plaza wanted to give shoppers more than one choice to get their coffee.
“They can relax on the outside patio or never leave their car,” she said.
Just down the street from the site of the future Starbucks is Bay Islands Coffee, a small drive-thru stand in the middle of a parking lot. It’s been open since 1997 and was the only drive-thru coffee shop in Butler Plaza, but general manager Jayme Brockman said the new store won’t affect his business.
Brockman said that there is already a drive-thru Dunkin’ Donuts across the street, so he doesn’t see the competition increasing at all. Brockman said his store has local appeal.
Tim Chong, a 22-year-old UF biochemistry senior, said the convenience is appealing, but he doesn’t see the need for two Starbucks locations so close on Archer Road.
“My go-to place has been the drive-thru at Dunkin, but if I can skip the long lines at Starbucks, that’s definitely an option,” Chong said. “It’s odd to think there’s a Starbucks right across the street, though.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 2/10/2014 under the headline "Drive-thru Starbucks brewing in the future for Archer Road"]
