The California-based coffee chain is seeking to further streamline its drive-thru ordering process amid high demand for the concept across the US
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The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s Rialto drive-thru only store | Photo credit: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Los Angeles-based The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) has opened its first drive-thru only store concept in Rialto, California.
The outlet focuses on app-based pre-ordering and pick-up to enable ‘a more streamlined and convenient’ ordering experience. CBTL will also offer delivery from the site.
World Coffee Portal’s Project Café USA 2024 report found that 55% of consumers surveyed prefer drive-thru to entering a coffee shop – rising to 61% for those aged under 35. Nearly a quarter (24%) of those surveyed used drive-thru for their most recent coffee shop purchase.
“At The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, we are always looking for new ways to enhance our guests’ experience, and this new drive-thru only location provides a more streamlined, convenient and faster way for them to enjoy our iconic high-quality coffee and teas from around the world, while not having to get out of their cars,” said Sanjiv Razdan, President of Americas and India, CBTL.
Founded in California in 1963, CBTL operates approximately 140 US stores and a further 1,000 across 25 international markets. The coffee chain was acquired by Manila-based foodservice group Jollibee Food Corporation (JFC) for $350m in July 2019.
In March 2024, JFC said it would seek to further scale its branded coffee chain businesses as part of plans to open 750 new stores across its quick-service brand portfolio this year. Alongside CBTL, the group also operates 779 Highlands Coffee stores across Vietnam and the Philippines, 310 Milksha outlets and a single Common Man Coffee Roasters site in the Philippines.