Why is There So Many Drive-Through Coffee Shops in Montana?

Having coffee is the best part of the day for many people, myself included. Down almost every road in Missoula there is a drive-through coffee shop and I love how most of them are drive-throughs.

No Drive-Through Coffee Where I'm From.

I’m always rushing from place to place, but sometimes I need to treat myself to a little drink. Where I am from originally more south, the only drive-through coffee place we had was Dutch Bros. and maybe one Starbucks had a drive-through. In Montana, there are drive-through coffee shops down every major road, which is a game changer.

Copper Mountain Coffee is the first drive-through coffee shop I went to and they had the best caramel latte I’ve ever had. I expanded out and tried lotus for the first time at Florence Coffee. Both Copper Mountain Coffee and Flo. Co. offers so many more options compared to national chain coffee shops.

Why Are There So Many Drive-Through Coffee Shops in Montana?

If I look outside my window during my commute, there is a Flo. Co., Copper Mountain, Loose Caboose, or some other drive-through.

According to Quora, Northern States have more drive-through coffee shops because sometimes the weather deters people from leaving their cars and going inside. Would you want to leave your car to get coffee when it’s 13 degrees out? No.

Coffee Shop Startups explained that Montana has many drive-throughs because of the amount of road space in the state. Combine that with people’s commute to work, little time to wait inside of a coffee shop, and the iffy weather drive-through coffee shops are the best option.

It seems like there is no sign of new drive-through coffee shops popping up in Montana, but I don’t think that is anything to complain about.