Another national coffee chain will be making its Springfield debut with the planned opening of a Dutch Bros coffee shop on North Dirksen Parkway.
The new Dutch Bros will be located at 2343 N. Dirksen Parkway, the former home to Hickory River Smokehouse. Adam Bell, a partner with Core Acquisitions, said the coffee shop should open by early spring 2027. Deerfield, Illinois-based Core Acquisitions is a preferred developer for Dutch Bros and has built several coffee shops for the company across central Illinois.
The 1,250-square-foot Springfield Dutch Bros location will be drive-through only with a walk-up window but no interior dining space. Bell said Core Acquisitions is waiting for approval to begin demolition of the former Hickory River building, which he expects to happen by the end of October.
Bell said he expects that the continued development along North Dirksen, along with its proximity to Interstate 55, is what attracted Dutch Bros to the region.
“It’s a burgeoning area – that part of Springfield is a great retail node,” Bell said, adding that Dutch Bros typically does “a decent amount of off-the-interstate traffic, and this is an easily accessed location.”
Bell said that, in his experience, Dutch Bros often develops multiple locations in markets it enters, so he would not be surprised if an additional Dutch Bros eventually opened in the Springfield region. Core Acquisitions recently has developed stores for Dutch Bros in both Bloomington and Champaign.
“Markets outside of the Chicago MSA (metropolitan statistical area) have been strong for them, so Springfield was an obvious choice,” he said.
Hickory River Smokehouse closed its Springfield location on Aug. 31 after 21 years in the market. The company said at the time that the decision to close followed an “exceptional, unsolicited offer” to purchase its North Dirksen property.
Hickory River said the company would be “actively searching” for a new location to reopen in Springfield that aligns with “modern dining trends and economic efficiency.” The company is advertising for “passionate new franchisees to step in and establish a dedicated Springfield storefront.”
Cory Craig Auctioneer is holding an online auction that ends Oct. 11 for the commercial kitchen and food prep equipment.
Core Acquisitions, through the Core Springfield LLC, purchased the 1.17 acres at 2343 N. Dirksen for $1.38 million in a sale that closed Sept. 11, according to Sangamon County real estate records.
Dutch Bros is the latest coffee chain to enter the Springfield market. 7 Brew Coffee opened its first Springfield location on Wabash at the end of May, and the company has filed a building permit to construct a second location at 2631 N. Dirksen Parkway.
In addition, local Scooter’s franchise owners Marcus and Lauryn McGlasson plan to open a third Springfield location at 1949 E. Sangamon Ave. in the former PNC Bank building. That coffee shop is slated to open by early 2027.
Arizona-based Dutch Bros has about 1,285 locations across the United States. During the second quarter of 2026, the company opened 48 new shops, and its revenue increased 32.5% to reach $550.9 million, according to its quarterly financial report.
“We enter the second half of the year from a position of strength, with a focused plan, strong visibility into our growth initiatives, and a clear path to turning the significant whitespace ahead of us into durable growth,” Josh Guenser, chief financial officer, said in a statement about the quarterly results.