Coffee franchise hopes for hometown feel

Though Creston has a handful of coffee shops already, Scooters manager and Creston native Kylee LaMasters said they’ll be able to bring something new to town when they open Aug. 7.

“I’ve been talking to a lot of people and they’ve been saying we don’t need another coffee shop,” LaMasters said. “But I think coffee is in demand, it is growing. Everyone needs their caffeine fix every morning. I think what we bring that is different is that we are a kiosk, we are a drive thru.”

Though Scooters is a nationwide franchise, LaMasters said this location will have that hometown feel. “We really are family-oriented,” she said. “We’re not some big corporate coming in. We’re a franchise. The franchise owners are from a town smaller than Creston, and we are very hands on. Maybe it’s not going to give you that small town feel you get through Adams Street Espresso that I love, but we’re going to make sure that when you come through the drive thru, you’re going to get greeted with a smile and quality drinks made.”

In addition to the drive thru, LaMasters pushed for a 5 a.m. open time on weekdays to accommodate morning commuters and early risers. They will be open until 8 p.m. on weekdays and 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends.

Most famous for their signature Caramelicious flavor, LaMasters has plenty in stock for what’s sure to be a fan favorite. “You can get that iced, blended or hot,” she said. “I think what else might become popular is our peanut butter power. I know we have Hanson Nutrition and they offer protein shakes. We also have that, and we use real peanut butter which is awesome.”

Their menu also includes an array of non-coffee options including smoothies, matcha, chai tea, quenchers and Scoot energy.

Their smoothies come in strawberry, mango, wild berry, peach and strawberry-banana. Customers can get either the standard smoothie or the Vertigo smoothie which contains their Scoot energy.

Flavor options for coffee include vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, almond, toffee nut, white mocha, dark mocha and Caramelicious.

“Another thing that will maybe put us out there is we have more of a variety of sugar-free flavors, and that’s a big thing for me since I have a mother that is diabetic,” LaMasters said. “I know a lot of people need those sugar-free options you may not see anywhere else.”

Sugar-free options are hazelnut, vanilla, caramel and dark mocha.

Some food options include a maple waffle sandwich, everything bagel sandwich and bacon ciabatta sandwich.

“For foods, I definitely think the everything bagel is going to be a fan favorite,” LaMasters said. “It’s kind of spicy. It’s a bagel with some sausage and cheese. My favorite is the bacon ciabatta. It’s simple, but it has gouda.”

In addition to espresso drinks and brewed coffee, the location will offer cold brew and nitro cold brew. Served without ice, the nitro cold brew is cold brew that’s been nitrogenated to create a velvety smooth taste.

“The main thing Scooters is known for is how fast we are,” LaMasters said. “Our window time of course is not going to be under 30 seconds of course when we first open and I hope people are understanding of that. I do have a goal set for my baristas, let’s try to get under four minutes, but I don’t want the quality of our drinks to go down.”

After creating a Facebook post to announce the opening, LaMasters received more than 50 barista applications.

“Right now I have a total of 32 hired. I’m excited for that, we start training next week,” she said. “I think we’ll be pretty full staffed. I’m optimistic about the baristas I have hired. I think I have a good mix, and all of them are really excited.”

On opening day, the store manager and assistant manager from Scooters’ first location in Nebraska will assist the team.

LaMasters and her team plan to embody Scooters’ core values — love, integrity, courage and humility.

“It’s more than just a coffee shop,” she said. “I want to give it that small hometown feel.”