🔒Wake up and smell the coffee: Aroma Joe’s continues to open shops from Maine to Florida

Aroma Joe’s, a fast-growing coffee shop chain known for its energy drinks, handcrafted coffee and espresso, has been on an expansion spree over the past couple of years.

Aroma Joe’s launched in 2000 in New Hampshire, then moved to Maine. Franchising has been the key to its growth. The company has stayed true to its roots, expanding mostly in the Northeast, in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Connecticut, but there are also franchisees in Florida.

The company now has 115 locations and counting. Most of Aroma Joe’s coffee shop locations are in suburban areas because it relies heavily on drive-thrus. However, it’s exploring moves into more cities during 2025.

Dave Tucci, president and COO, told Mainebiz that the company is looking to expand with new franchisees in the eight states it is currently operating in.

The company is opening new locations in Saco; Methuen, Mass; Monroeville, Pa.; Nashua, N.H.; Louden, N.H.; Cape Coral, Fla.; Berlin, Conn.; and Southington, Conn.

“We have identified areas or pockets,” says Tucci. “We have some locations in Florida and more in the pipeline, which is in the planning and soon-to-be construction phase. We have franchisees looking for sites as well. We are looking to build on that expansion in the Florida market and push further north and up the East Coast to meet our existing development in New England.

"We are a franchise brand, so we have to have the franchisee or the operator in place; we can’t open a new location without that all in place.”

Determining a new location

Regarding new franchise openings, Tucci said that the franchisee will need to select a site and location and then each location is validated by their real estate committee.

Each location is franchised and independently owned and operated. Tucci said a lot of their growth is coming from within. Existing franchisees that have locations open are looking to grow and add additional locations to their profile.

However, customer demand is also helping drive their growth and expansion.

“Saco is a perfect example of franchisee growth,” says Tucci. “It is the same franchisee that owns the existing location on U.S. Route 1 further south. That is a very busy location, and they were looking to grow and expand, as well as take some people away from that location and spread it out so customers aren’t going through and waiting in the drive-thru line.”

When opening a new franchise, the company considers factors like a town or city’s population, car traffic, demographics and location.

“It is a combination of making sure you have the core requirement on the site that will make a traffic count feasible,” says Tucci.

“Visibility is key, and the lot needs to be big enough to accommodate parking. You also have to have a drive-thru lane that can stack up enough cars so they aren’t backing out onto the road. If you can see it but can’t get to it like a divided highway, you’re going to drive right by it and go to the next place that is easier to get into.

“Those are the core components and then the next set of criteria comes into play,” he continues. “Is there enough demographic and where we skew younger, we look at that.”

Since Aroma Joe’s demographic is younger, the brand likes to be close to schools and universities.

The company also looks at key destination drivers: areas with a lot of shopping, businesses and people on their way to work. The area also depends on the access points of the lot and if the location is drive-thru only or if it includes a coffeehouse. Typically, the company works with half-acre lots.

“You want to make sure that you are on that morning side of the traffic pattern, so you are getting the majority of that traffic flow, rather than being on the evening side of the road when people aren’t getting coffee on their way home from work,” says Tucci.

While Aroma Joe’s is known for its small coffee huts with drive-thrus, Tucci said it is a different interaction than buying your coffee at coffee shops that have impersonal service. Every customer is greeted with a smile, not a robotic voice, and orders are taken by trained baristas who can answer questions and recommend drinks.

Aroma Joe’s also has a few nontraditional locations that do not have drive-thrus, which allows visitors looking for a pick-me-up to come into the hut and enjoy their coffee without being rushed.

The franchisee makes the decision when it comes to picking out a drive-thru or a coffee house.

“A franchisee may have a passion for owning and operating a coffeehouse and want that dynamic experience, and maybe there’s a void in the community where an area might need a coffee shop,” says Tucci.

"It really comes down to the franchisee and what they are looking to do. We can accommodate a variety of models but it’s really the franchisee that is driving that decision.”

What's in the works

Continued growth is percolating for Aroma Joe’s. The brand is actively seeking new and existing franchisees, offering multi-unit opportunities for savvy investors. The focus is on continuing development efforts in markets where the brand already has a presence.

In addition, Tucci says that the company is looking to expand beyond the eight states it is currently operating in. It is getting franchise inquiries from all over the country, from Minnesota and Ohio to the West.

“Brand awareness has grown dramatically over the last couple of years,” says Tucci. “If you were to rewind five to six years ago, most of it would have been Maine and New Hampshire. It was local people who were familiar with the brands.”

He says there are 3,400 franchise concepts in the U.S. and only 15% have more than 100 locations, which puts Aroma Joe’s in the top 15%.

“That is creating some media and exposure for the brand that has been allowing these inquiries to come in from places we’ve never had before,” Tucci says. “Just last year, we opened our 100th location. We are currently at 115, which is a big deal in the franchise space.”