Colorado Springs has a new drive-thru coffee option following the debut of a second 7 Brew location this summer. The opening came roughly four years after the project was first approved with the city, and developers hit the mid-July target that Sussex Group Brew 1 CEO Thomas Esposito had described earlier in the season.
The land required significant preparation before construction could begin. A former Garden of the Gods Market and Café had occupied the 0.7-acre site until it relocated downtown in 2021; that building was torn down to accommodate a 510-square-foot coffee stand and three vehicle queuing lanes. The finished layout includes both a standard drive-thru lane and a pass-thru lane, giving customers who receive their orders quickly a way to pull out ahead of vehicles still waiting at the front.
The 26th Street stand is the second of what was once a three-site development plan. Back in 2022, developers brought proposals to city officials for 7 Brew stands at Platte Avenue, 26th Street, and Maizeland Road, though only the Maizeland stand was constructed at that time. The new 26th Street outlet operates under Sussex Group Brew 1, a franchisee separate from whoever holds the Maizeland location and from the Geyer Morris Co., which appeared in the original 2022 planning documents. El Paso County property records show the parcel changed hands to 3J7B Real Estate — an Ohio-based limited liability company — for $2.3 million toward the end of 2022.
A third Colorado Springs store is part of Sussex Group's broader expansion strategy, though the Platte Avenue address is no longer in the picture. Esposito said no development is planned for that Platte Avenue site, but his company controls land for potential 7 Brew outlets stretching from Castle Rock down to Pueblo. Castle Rock is next in line for a new opening, after which the Springs could see another location arrive before the end of this year or sometime in 2027. Looking further ahead, Esposito said Sussex Group aims to double its store count in the southern Front Range in 2027 compared with 2026, with most of the pipeline expected to come to fruition over the following four to six years.
Jobs and wages are part of the pitch to the community. Esposito put each location's workforce at somewhere between 50 and 70 employees, and a hiring posting in Colorado Springs this summer advertised a starting wage of at least $17 an hour, not counting tips. He attributed Sussex Group's interest in the market to the region's ongoing population increases, its relatively young residents, and the foothold the brand has already established here.
Neighborhood concerns about congestion did not ultimately block the project. Nearby residents worried that drive-thru traffic and queuing vehicles could back up into surrounding streets, but a traffic analysis conducted in 2023 found the coffee stand would not produce meaningfully more congestion than the restaurant that previously occupied the site — a conclusion that factored in projected traffic levels through 2043.
7 Brew was founded in 2017 and counted just 26 outlets in 2022; the chain now operates more than 700 locations spanning 38 states. The menu is built around seven beverage categories — including coffees, energy drinks, teas, and smoothies — and the company says the available flavor combinations number upward of 20,000.
Whether the Castle Rock opening stays on schedule — and whether a third Colorado Springs location follows before 2027 — will determine how quickly Sussex Group's regional buildout takes shape.