WORTHINGTON — Despite a first week that included a blizzard and a holiday, business was booming at the new Scooter’s Coffee drive-thru on Oxford Street.
Long lines at the business, located in the southwest corner of the Schwalbach Ace Hardware parking lot, were commonplace upon its initial opening on Dec. 21. Scooter’s remained busy throughout the week, confirmed Renee O’Hara, regional manager for the business, on Monday.
“It’s been really busy, which is typical of a new location,” O’Hara said. “We had the big snowstorm on Wednesday that slowed us down and closed us down early, but the holiday made it a busy weekend as well.”
Christmas is the only day in the year on which Scooter’s is closed, O’Hara said. The business is open from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
O’Hara said her duties as regional manager encompass six stores, including Worthington and Fairmont locations as well as four Scooter’s stores in Iowa. Shania Singleton is the manager at Worthington’s Scooter’s, at which 15 individuals (mostly part-time) are employed.
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The decision to bring Scooter’s newest location to Worthington made clear sense to co-owners Josh Morris and Robb Steffes, O’Hara explained.
“Our owners, they go out and scout new areas, and they saw that Worthington was in need of a drive-thru,” she said. “It’s a community that has a lot of growth and we were able to get a good spot on Oxford, and that helps a lot.”
Morris and Steffes are planning to open an additional four Scooter’s locations in 2021, O’Hara noted. Locations are on the way in Mason City, Iowa and Austin, with the other two communities still to be determined.
While Scooter’s is commonly recognized for its coffee and smoothies, O’Hara pointed out that food is sold all day.
“We have hot sandwiches and we’re actually rolling out some new menu items on Wednesday,” she said, noting that the new items will include red velvet cake pops, a ham and cheddar biscuit and a turkey sausage sandwich.
“We also have burritos … as well as really big cinnamon rolls and fun cake pops for the kids, and pastries, too,” O’Hara added.
Scooter’s also has an app that keeps its customers aware of specials while offering rewards. O’Hara hopes that as time goes on, visitors to the Worthington store will take advantage of the app and also enjoy quick drive-thru service.
“The biggest thing now is we’re really trying to get people through as fast as we can so we can get more cars through and get people to work faster,” she said.
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“I worked there (Worthington) three times last week, and everyone is really friendly. Everybody has been pretty positive about the service.”
