
7 Brew Coffee, based in Fayetteville, this month was named 2023 Breakout Brand of the Year by QSR Magazine, one of the leading sources of reporting on the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industry.
“The chain grew to 40 locations by the end of 2022 and had 150 stands in 24 states as of late October,” QSR said. “That means 7 Brew’s unit size skyrocketed by 275 percent in less than a year. Of those shops, roughly 90 percent are operated by 45 franchisees.”
The magazine calls 7 Brew’s growth “quite the outlier, not only in the beverage space but the quick-service segment overall.”
7 Brew listed 184 locations as of last week.
The QSR accolade comes after 7 Brew earned a mention in The Wall Street Journal in December in an article on the explosive growth of customizable drinks offered by big chains like McDonald’s and Taco Bell as well as by coffee chains like Dutch Bros., 7 Brew and others.
Of course, readers of Arkansas Business are familiar with the 7 Brew story, though we’ll note that QSR’s article did not mention the chain’s legal battle with Jimmy John Liautaud, the billionaire founder of the Jimmy John’s sandwich chain, over ownership of 7 Brew, which we’ve also covered.
Last time we checked the court filings, there wasn’t much new, but we’ll keep you posted.