Cuppy's Motto: Good Coffee To Go, And Fast

August 13, 2007

By: Gregory J. Gilligan

Mary and Joe Patrick knew it was fate.

The couple had been thinking about operating their own business.

One day two years ago this month, they searched the Internet -- she on the computer in the kitchen and he in the home office -- for franchising opportunities.

Both found and liked the same coffee shop franchise.

"We felt it certainly warranted looking into further since we both had the same excitement about it," Mary said.

They did more research.

And this summer, they opened a Cuppy's Coffee & More at 8461 Midlothian Turnpike. The store is in the Midlothian Crossing shopping center, about a quarter-mile east of Powhite Parkway.

The Patricks liked Cuppy's concept because its buildings are designed for double drive-through window service.

The shop has a small lobby area with four bar stools.

"It's not a place where you sit down and pull out your computer and stay awhile," Mary said. "It is designed for the consumer on the go who wants a high-quality product fast and convenient."

Cuppy's is the area's first double drive-through coffee shop, Mary said.

Double drive-throughs are key to Cuppy's operating model, said Rachel Clark, vice president of marketing for the Florida-based chain.

The double drive-throughs allow the chain to provide consumers with coffees and other specialty drinks in under one minute, she said.

"It's all about being fast," Clark said.

The chain started out operating locations only with double drive-throughs, but it has since added larger sit-down cafes with drive-throughs, she said. Thirty-one of Cuppy's 44 locations are strictly double drive-throughs.

Cuppy's locations include one in Christiansburg and one opening this month in Fredericksburg.

The chain is one of the nation's fastest-growing coffee franchises. It has 67 more locations in construction and 200-plus additional locations in the pipeline.

The Patricks want to open more stores in the Richmond area.

"We are looking at some places, but we need to establish a track record first," Mary said.