Scooter’s Coffee to open Auburn shop in February

The 664 square-foot business will open at 1945 East Glenn Ave. in mid-February, said franchisee Daniel Yates of Lake Martin Coffee LLC.

“Our motto is we try to get people in and out fast as possible, and try to serve amazing drinks amazingly fast to amazing people,” said Yates, who believes the drive-thru only option helps the business standout.

The menu features everything from hot drinks and smoothies to foods and pastries. Yates’ personal favorite is the peanut butter crunch blender while the caramelicious blender is the brand’s most popular item.

Scooter’s Coffee, which was founded in Bellevue, Neb. in 1998, has grown to around 700 locations, he said. Despite being a massive chain, Yates is looking forward to getting involved in the community with the new location.

“We’re glad to be part of community, looking forward to being here for a long time,” Yates said. “We want the store to be part of the community, to do things and help schools and do whatever we can do…we don’t want to be just another store opening on the corner.”

The Alexander City native said that he has spent over two decades in the restaurant business, working with various businesses in Alexander City.

After years in sit-down style restaurants, he decided to make a change and pursued a franchise opportunity with Scooter’s Coffee.

“The whole drive-thru only type concept really kind of intrigued me. I thought it was interesting, really wanted to give it a shot,” Yates said. “They had a good business model, good plan, as far as growth and so forth. I just wanted to be a part of it.”

That first store under Yates’ leadership was opened in 2021 in Alexander City. He later open additional locations in Wetumpka and Anniston before settling on Auburn as the next franchise location. In choosing Auburn, Yates said the choice was fairly easy due to the franchise agreement he signed with Scooter’s.

In that agreement, his territories included Alexander City and the Auburn-Opelika area, meaning it was the next obvious choice for expansion. Yates said that Auburn’s continued growth gives him confidence in the location despite the growing number of coffee shops in the area.

“I know there’s other coffee franchises with 7 Brew and everything coming to Auburn,” Yates said. “I feel like there’s still enough room for us and our business model and what we have to offer to the community.”

However Yates said they will not stop there as they are already looking at Opelika as the potential location in the near future.

Yates said the business will be open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day and will serve the menu that can be found on the Scooter’s Coffee website.