7 Brew Coffee, a drive-thru coffee chain with a devoted following, has been expanding rapidly and there appears to be two locations in the works for Springfield.
The first 7 Brew in Illinois opened in Sterling in December 2022 and was developed by Benito Hidalgo, a Texas real estate investor. His company, Net Lease Development, acquires and develops single-tenant properties across the U.S., including many quick service restaurants. The company’s website touts 160 properties in 35 states, including multiple projects in Illinois.
In April 2022, the Jacksonville Journal-Courier reported that NLD Acquisitions, a subsidiary of Net Lease Development, had petitioned for a zoning change to allow for construction of a drive-thru coffee shop and oil change facility on West Morton Avenue. 7 Brew opened its Jacksonville location in June 2023.
According to Sangamon County tax records, the former restaurant at the corner of Wabash Avenue and Veterans Parkway was sold Nov. 17 for $1.3 million. The buyer was 2599 Wabash LLC, and according to the Illinois Secretary of State, that limited liability company is managed by Benito Hidalgo.
Hidalgo and NLD Acquisitions LLC are also listed as the contract buyer for a property at 2631 N. Dirksen Parkway, adjacent to Club Car Wash. The company filed a petition for zoning relief, seeking to down zone the property from its current I-2 heavy industrial to use to B-1, a business service classification. While the details in the zoning petition are sparse, it references wanting to “construct a commercial drive-in service upon this tract…”
The request was unanimously approved at the Dec. 17 Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission meeting and is scheduled to be voted on at the Jan. 20 Springfield City Council.
7 Brew was founded in Arkansas in 2017 and has grown to more than 500 locations nationwide. The original menu included seven different coffee drinks, although that has now expanded as well.
The 500-square-foot locations are all drive-thrus that utilize a double-lane, with “Brew Crew” employees taking and delivering orders to customers. The company promotes its 20,000 different customizable combinations and offers teas, energy drinks and milkshakes in addition to its namesake coffee.
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