7 Brew wins key approval for proposed Kenosha location

7 Brew, a coffee drive-thru franchise, could be coming to Kenosha soon after the city Plan Commission unanimously approved the store's conditions on Thursday.

7 Brew, a new national coffee chain, offers only drive-thru or walk-up ordering. 7 Brew says that the Kenosha location is part of a plan to expand its franchise to 40 locations in Wisconsin. The Brookfield store opened in April.

The company, which has been in business for five years, operated 24 stands as of August last year. It now operates 60 locations across the country.

The coffee shop, which is 678 square feet in size, would be located on 4706 75th Street. Dairy Queen and RightWay Auto Sales are to the east.

Mark Hertzfeldt, of Design 2 Development Corp., mapped out and designed the chain in plans submitted to city officials.

Kenosha’s 7 Brew, like its other locations will have a walk-up and drive-thru window where employees can go straight to the cars of customers to take orders. The exterior follows the franchise guidelines, with decorative metal siding and cement bricks, colored metal accents, and anodized aluminium entrances and window.

Tommy Pennington, the owner of the Brookfield franchise was in attendance at the meeting. He addressed the concerns of the commissioners about the comfort and security of employees taking orders under all weather conditions. Pennington said that the new location would include a heated employee hut to cope with Wisconsin's harsh winters.

Pennington stated that 'we invest a great deal of resources to ensure our employees' comfort, especially during the winter. We will adjust our operations as necessary.

According to the agenda of the City Plan Commission, the chain will hire up to ten employees and offer 7 Brew Originals along with coffee classics. For caffeine lovers who prefer something different than coffee, they can order energy drinks or tea. The chain will also sell Italian sodas as well as smoothies and milkshakes.