Coffee Oases

A few days ago, I told a friend that I was in a bad mood and had almost rammed a woman who was trying to beat me to the drive through at Starbucks. I was surprised to discover that what she found most fascinating about my story was not that I had been in such an irritable mood, but that there was such a thing as a Starbucks with a drive through.

Considering she lives in Manhattan, that probably shouldn't have surprised me. But it did make me start thinking about how ubiquitous drive-through coffee joints are in Oregon. So, I decided to count those in my own little community. In counting, I included only those that were:

1. Drive-throughs
2. Predominantly coffee places (no McDonald's, for example, could be included)
3. On the main drag through town (I didn't, after all, want to go crazy and try to track down every coffee joint in town)

In a town of 32,400 people on a 3.2-mile stretch of road, I came up with eight:

Coffee shops on the south side of Highway 99

Start with the Starbucks, of course.

If you look closely (behind the tree), you will see the "drive thru" sign.


Sorry, I was taking some of these while driving. This is a little trailer that is always busy.

Another driving picture. Bad, I know. This is near City Hall, across from the fire station.

Coffee shops on the north side of Highway 99

This one is in Texaco's parking lot. Gas and coffee all in one spot.

This is a little place called LeAnn's. If you look in the background, you can see the sign for Wal-Mart.

The larger of two Dutch Bros. in town.

The smaller Dutch Bros. This one has only one drive-up window.

The little Java Junction that's across Highway 99 from Starbucks. It does great business. One of the biggest sellers is its Mexican hot chocolate.

See? Despite what everyone might say, I come by my love for coffee honestly. It's an Oregon institution.

Of course, don't make me count the number of wineries in and around my little town. That little Oregon institution would put the coffee places to shame. :)