Modesto gets second serving of coffee, doughnuts. Popular chains plan new locations
Fans of coffee and doughnuts should be pleased as Modesto is set to get second servings of two popular food chains.
Dunkin’, the national doughnut chain, and Dutch Bros Coffee, a West Coast-based coffee chain with a cult following, have second locations set to open in the city. Building permits for both locations — on Oakdale Road and Carpenter Road, respectively — have been issued by the city of Modesto and initial work is underway.
Preliminary construction has started on the new Dutch Bros Coffee kiosk, which is being built in the parking lot of the Cost Less shopping center at the corner of Carpenter Road and Kansas Avenue. The new west Modesto location, at 901 N. Carpenter, follows the company’s drive-thru standalone model.
According to building information filed with the city, the coffee kiosk will be approximately 860 square feet with a dual drive thru. Plans were approved by the city late last month and work leveling the site and laying down its foundation have already begun.
This will be Modesto’s second Dutch Bros location. The first opened last October on McHenry Avenue, in front of the Modesto Radiology Imaging building. Despite being on the busy Modesto thoroughfare, just south of Briggsmore Avenue, the location has managed its traffic well and largely kept spillover from entering the roadway.
The Carpenter location’s permit was approved in late April. The company, which was started in Oregon in 1992 by two brothers with Dutch heritage, has completed some fast turn-around when building its drive-up kiosks in the valley. The McHenry Avenue site’s building plans got final approval in early July last year, and it was open by late October.
Dutch Bros Coffee representatives did not return calls in time for publication, but a similar timeline would put the new Carpenter Road location on track to open in late summer, early fall.
Dunkin’ readies vacant Modesto site for work
Meanwhile, on the east side of town, Dunkin’ (formerly Dunkin’ Donuts, but they dropped the doughy side of their name a couple years ago because of the popularity of their specialty drinks) has plans for its second site in the city on Oakdale Road.
The East Coast-based doughnut and coffee company opened its first Modesto site in 2014 at the corner of Standiford Avenue and Tully Road (in the former Boston Market space).
Dunkin’ is the only national doughnut chain currently operating in Modesto, which also has a plethora of good independent doughnut shops and even new mochi donut pop-ups. The city’s Krispy Kreme shop on Briggsmore Avenue closed in 2005, and the county’s only other location in Riverbank followed suit and closed in 2018.
Construction on the site, at 1021 Oakdale Road in the former TitleMax building, started on Monday, according to a company spokesperson reached via email. The new location will be a 2,355-square-foot restaurant with an attached drive-thru window.
The company said the franchise has the same owner as Modesto’s existing Dunkin’ on Standiford. Work is slated to go through the summer, and the spokesperson said they are planning for a late-September opening. They expect to hire about 20 to staff the site.
Dutch Bros plans new sites in Modesto, Turlock
With all the doubling up of these brands in Modesto, Turlock is also getting in on the action as it moves ahead with plans for a second Dutch Bros Coffee kiosk. In March in the city approved plans to begin work on a new site in the Turlock Town Center.
The 699 N. Golden State Boulevard location is currently home to Mundo’s Latin Grill, which will move into a new spot in the same center. The restaurant building will be torn down to make way for new construction of the about 860-square-foot drive-up kiosk.
Turlock’s first Dutch Bros Coffee, on Crowell Avenue across from California State University, Stanislaus, opened last September and has been a very popular presence next to the college campus since.
“Dutch Bros has loved being part of Turlock so we’re stoked to open another location in a community that has given us such a warm welcome!,” Dutch Bros spokeswoman Olivia Ortiz said in an email when asked earlier this year about expanding in Turlock.
This story was originally published May 12, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
