Dutch Bros drive-thru coffee chain pulling into the Richmond region

Drive-thru coffee chain Dutch Bros is planning to open a location in Chester. (Courtesy Dutch Bros)

A West Coast drive-thru coffee shop is pulling into Chester for its first spot in the Richmond region.

Dutch Bros is planning to open a location at 12031 Route 1, according to a recently filed site plan.

The chain operates drive-thru-only locations with a beverage-focused menu including coffee drinks, lemonade, iced tea and smoothies, along with pastries and granola bars.

The upcoming Chester location would be 990 square feet and feature a pair of drive-thru lanes on a vacant property between a Bon Secours emergency center and a Take 5 Oil Change, per the filings received last week by Chesterfield County.

The Dutch Bros would be accessible through one of the Bon Secours center’s entrances off Route 1, and would also be connected to the oil change shop’s parking lot, according to the site plan. The plan suggests that the Dutch Bros location would lease just a portion of the 2-acre parcel.

The Dutch Bros planned in Chester would be built on part of a 2-acre property between a Bon Secours ER and a Take 5 oil change shop. (County documents)

The project is led by Accelerated Development Services, a Phoenix-based company with a history of developing Dutch Bros locations. Kimley-Horn is listed as the civil engineer and landscape architect on the site plan.

More details about the Dutch Bros store, such as its anticipated opening date, were unavailable. The company didn’t respond to emails seeking comment.

Dutch Bros is a publicly traded company that got its start as a pushcart in Grants Pass, Oregon. Founded in 1992 by brothers Dane and Travis Boersma, Dutch Bros has grown to more than 1,000 locations in 18 states as of the end of March, according to the company.

Dutch Bros doesn’t list any locations in Virginia on its website, and the upcoming Chester location would appear primed to be the company’s first location in the Richmond region.

Elevations of the Dutch Bros planned in Chester. (County documents)

Dutch Bros reported $24.8 million in adjusted net income in the first quarter of 2025. During the period, Dutch Bros opened 30 new locations, five of them franchised and the rest operated by the company, in 11 states, according to a news release.

Dutch Bros went public in 2021, following private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners buying a minority stake in the coffee company in 2018.

Dutch Bros arrival to the Richmond market follows that of rival 7 Brew, a similar drive-thru-focused concept with two locations open in Chesterfield’s Midlothian Turnpike corridor, per the company’s website.

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