7 Brew Coffee drive-thru approved for Punta Gorda

Punta Gorda Board of Zoning Appeals approved plans for a 7 Brew Coffee drive-thru, clearing the way for construction after the developer agreed to modify the building’s design. 

Board members voted Feb. 24 to grant variances requested by franchise owner Seven Crew Florida LLC for a coffee stand planned on 0.78 acres at 1225 Tamiami Trail S., near West William Street and adjacent to Fifth Third Bank. 

Representatives for the developer initially sought multiple variances related to the building’s exterior design. City code requires windows or faux windows and doors to be spaced no more than 16 feet apart and to cover at least 50% of a building’s facade. 

Elijah Basile and Drew Deegan of Bowman Consulting Group Ltd., who presented the proposal to the board, requested exceptions to those requirements along with several other design standards. 

Board members raised concerns that the building’s original facade, which resembled metal, would not fit well with surrounding architecture along the highway corridor. 

In response, the applicants agreed to revise the design during the meeting. They committed to adding additional faux windows spaced to meet city code and replacing the exterior finish with Nichiha or a similar material designed to resemble brick. 

City zoning official Rachel Barry updated the application during the meeting to reflect the design changes before the board approved the request. 

Representatives for Seven Crew Florida LLC did not disclose a construction timeline for the project.  

The Punta Gorda location would add to the growing presence of 7 Brew Coffee across Southwest Florida and nationwide. 

Seven Crew Florida LLC operates more than 65 7 Brew locations, with its first franchise opening in 2023. 

The brand itself was founded in Arkansas in 2017 by Ron Crume. The drive-thru coffee concept was later acquired by investors, including Jimmy John’s founder Jimmy John Liautaud, and began offering franchise opportunities in 2021. 

Since then, the company has expanded rapidly. As of late September 2025, 7 Brew had grown to 485 drive-thru stands across the U.S., according to the company’s website. 

The chain entered Charlotte County in September 2025 with its first location at 4275 Tamiami Trail S. in Port Charlotte, in front of the Town & Country Shopping Center anchored by Publix. Another location is planned for North Port. 

7 Brew has built a reputation for offering a wide range of customizable drinks. The company says its menu allows up to 20,000 drink combinations, including coffee, tea, smoothies, shakes, lemonades and sparkling beverages. 

Employees, known as brewistas, typically focus on the brand’s seven signature drinks, called the 7 Originals. 

Those drinks include the Blondie, a caramel and vanilla breve; the Brunette, a hazelnut and caramel mocha; Smooth 7, a white chocolate and Irish cream breve; Cinnamon Roll, made with white chocolate and brown sugar cinnamon; White Chocolate Mocha; German Chocolate, featuring coconut and caramel mocha; and Sweet & Salty, a salted caramel and white chocolate breve. 

Like other 7 Brew locations, the Punta Gorda drive-thru will use handheld digital devices to take orders from customers in line, a system similar to the approach used by Chick-fil-A restaurants, Deegan said.