Above — Scooter’s Coffee, a drive-thru coffee shop has recently come to Fairmont. The opening will take place November 2.

FAIRMONT — The anticipated

opening of Scooter’s

Coffee will take place

Nov. 2 in Fairmont. The

drive-thru coffee shop is located

in the Fareway parking

lot.

Scooter’s is based in

Omaha and is a growing national

chain, with a regional

franchise owned by Blu

Water Brew LLC. The franchise

is co-owned by Robb

Steffes.

The addition of the business

brought more than a

dozen new employment opportunities

to the area. Steffes

said a manager and assistant

manager have been hired

and are in training. About 12

baristas also were hired and

will begin training this week.

Blu Water Brew’s other

locations include Arnolds

Park, Spirit Lake, Spencer

and Clear Lake, Iowa. The

Fairmont location is its first

store in Minnesota. There is

also a store under construction

in Worthington.

When asked what sparked

an interest in Fairmont, Steffes

said, “Scooter’s is looking

to get more dense in

the Upper Midwest. We’ve

found that smaller towns

really do well and there’s a

need and want for this type

of product.”

He said that sometimes

Scooter’s will move into an

existing structure or building,

but Fairmont’s location

is just a kiosk. The structure

is small, just 500 square feet.

Steffes said there will be no

seating available inside, so

it’s drive-thru only.

“We do have a partnership

with Fareway,” he noted. “In

many cases, we do find large

parking lots and partner with

Fareway to really try to draw

the traffic to Fareway as well

as to us. We want to get business

all day, not just in the

morning rush, and people get

groceries all day long.”

When it comes to products,

Scooter’s offers a variety

of coffee. There are hot,

iced and blended options

available. In addition to coffee,

there will be teas, hot

chocolate, fruit drinks and

iced refreshments.

Steffes said Scooter’s is

known for its signature Carmelicious

drink, which is

a No. 1 seller. He said they

also have a Red Bull infusion,

which is a fruit-flavored

drink mixed with Red Bull.

“Sometimes it’s hard to

bring these types of drinks

to an area that’s not familiar

with the product,” Steffes

said. “But everything is really

customizable. You can

customize anything you want

once you learn the menu.”

In addition to drinks,

Scooter’s offers several food

items. There are breakfast

sandwiches, burritos and pastries,

including scones and

cinnamon rolls. Steffes said

all food is made from scratch

by a Scooter’s-owned company

called Harvest Roasting.

Scooter’s will be open

seven days per week. Hours

will be 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Monday through Friday. On

weekends, it will be open

from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Steffes said they will

likely have a grand opening

in December, with a ribbon-

cutting ceremony.