The Ye Olde Car Wash at 10200 Hull Street Road in Chesterfield. A 7 Brew drive-thru coffee shop is planned for the site. (Jack Jacobs photo)
The site of a long-running car wash near the intersection of Courthouse and Hull Street roads is slated to be wiped clean to make way for a coffee franchise that’s in the midst of a multi-unit push into the region.
New-to-market concept 7 Brew is planning to build a 500-square-foot coffee shop with two drive-thrus at 10200 Hull Street Road near Rockwood Park, according to plans received by the county last week.
The property is currently home to Ye Olde Car Wash, which has operated there for about 20 years and would be demolished ahead of the 7 Brew’s construction.
Ye Olde Car Wash owner Jim Hudson said he and his wife are selling the property to an entity tied to Thalhimer Realty Partners. The local 7 Brew franchise would then lease the land and pay for the construction of the store and own the building. The less-than-an-acre property was most recently assessed at about $599,000, according to online land records.
The Hull Street 7 Brew is expected to open in the first quarter of 2025, a company spokeswoman said.
Hudson said that the self-service car wash is planned to continue to operate until the land deal closes and that he and his wife are considering the next move for the car wash company beyond the sale.
Ye Olde has two other locations, one of which is a ways down the road at 13939 Hull Street Road and another at 10010 Midlothian Turnpike. Hudson said while business is good overall, there’s been an increase in competition in recent years and the couple is thinking about whether to wind down the company.
“We’ve had such an influx of new car washes in the county. The pie has not gotten that much bigger but our slice of the pie has declined,” Hudson said. “I’m 72 years old and none of the kids want to stay in the business, so I’m looking at whether or not we should exit.”
7 Brew is a drive-thru chain that sells coffee as well as tea and milkshakes. (BizSense file)
As Hudson considers a potential exit, the 7 Brew brand is eyeing additional locations in Chesterfield.
Local 7 Brew franchisee Brenda Creamer earlier this year told BizSense that her group plans to open five locations in the Richmond area.
Construction is underway on one of those five at 11 Le Gordon Drive in Midlothian, near the Winterfield Crossing shopping center. It’s expected to open in July.
Also in the works is a location at 11601 Midlothian Turnpike near Chesterfield Towne Center. That project involves demolition of a former T-Mobile storefront to make way for 7 Brew, which is planned to open in October.
Based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, 7 Brew focuses its locations on drive-thru service and doesn’t have indoor seating. The stores sell hot and iced coffee as well as smoothies, teas, milkshakes, muffins and an in-house energy drink called 7 Energy.
The first 7 Brew location, which the company refers to as “stands,” opened in 2017. The company has since grown to 220 locations in 26 states, according to its website. In Virginia, 7 Brew locations exist in Newport News and Harrisonburg.
In February, New York-based private equity firm Blackstone announced it had made an investment in the coffee chain to allow the company “to accelerate its already-rapid expansion,” according to a news release.
Is our society going to have an honest reckoning with the Blackstone monopoly?