Kevin Hall just sold his last McDonald's franchise and now he's ready to dive into Seward.
He grew up in Norfolk and Columbus, his parents are from Exeter and Geneva, and he always enjoyed coming to Seward as a kid. He already owns Scooter's Coffee franchises in Missouri. So when he discovered the opportunity to open a location back near his old stomping grounds, he went for it.
Hall appeared at a previous Seward City Council meeting to talk about the location, 240 N. Sixth St. On Oct. 30 he stood alongside the store's manager and prominent Seward County business partners to cut the ribbon on that location.
This Scooter's location will be drive-thru only, although Hall said he hopes to host walk-up traffic during Fourth of July celebrations and possibly some Farmer's Market evenings.
Initial hours are 5:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. Those might adjust but it's important to be open before the first plant shifts at 6 a.m., Hall said.
A steady stream of cars flowed through the store's drive-thru lane on Nov. 2 morning, the store's opening day.
Drive-thru time, Hall said, should be near 45 seconds once a customer reaches the window. Right now, with a mostly-school-aged staff of 16, that wait time is just over a minute.
Hall said that Scooter's inventory comes on a truck from Omaha. He thought that truck could have arrived during the Friday morning ribbon cutting.
One of the reasons this location was appealing to Hall was the traffic. A Nebraska Department of Transportation study conducted revealed that over 10,000 vehicles travel down Highway 15 through Seward every day. A drive-thru coffee shop along that road could draw commuter traffic and pull in tax dollars for Seward, Hall said.
