SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — With almost 30 stores in North Carolina, a popular Arkansas coffee drive-thru will be opening at least three locations in Wilmington soon.
Norfolk, Virginia-based Delight Restaurant Group is opening Wilmington’s franchises, with site plans having been submitted for 5317 Carolina Beach Road, 4607 Market St. and 805 S. College Road.
Port City Daily reached out to Delight with questions and to inquire whether they also had plans to grow further into neighboring Brunswick or Pender counties; there is already a location in Shallote. Though a company spokesperson did not answer Port City Daily questions, they did indicate the company is eyeing an October opening locally.
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The company is bringing roughly a dozen to the area in the next five years, the Wilmington Business Journal formerly reported, adding Delight had 100 franchise rights agreements for both the Port City and Raleigh-Durham markets. The first 7 Brew opened in Smithfield, just outside the Triangle, last week.
The College Road location is in front of the former K-Mart, to be on 0.5 acres where Burger King used to be. The Market Street drive-thru will be on a 1-acre plat between the 7-Eleven and Bojangles, while the Carolina Beach location is just north of Burger King at the intersection of South College and Carolina Beach roads.
The expansion is part of 7 Brew’s intense growth model, which expanded by 4000% between 2022 and 2025. In 2026, the company has reported a goal to open around 437 stores.
The coffee drive-thru first launched in Rogers, Arkansas, in 2017, and had 14 stores by 2022 before establishing franchises. Today, it exceeds 700. Each average unit volume brings in approximately $2 million.
The 7 Brew concept is simple: double drive-thru lanes service customers quickly for their coffee and energy drink needs. The business model was founded to ensure morning coffee lovers weren’t experiencing long wait times for a cup of java on the way to work. There aren’t service windows, as “brewistas” work on the lane to deliver the drink orders car-side.
Diners can order variations from seven categories: coffee, energy drinks, fizz sodas, teas, lemonades, smoothies and shakes. The company boasts up to 20,000 drink combinations, by picking a base (coffee, tea, etc.), milks or alternative creamers, syrups and toppings.
Though the menu also has numerous specialties, such as toasted marshmallow latte or funnel cake macchiato, cereal milk matcha or peach-cinnamon spice tea, and refreshers like Bahama Mama fizz and blackberry cobbler lemonade.
Delight Restaurant Group maintains a portfolio of more than 230 fast-food eateries, also including Wendy’s and Taco Bell, with a $525-million revenue base across eight states including North Carolina.
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