Drive-thru coffee has become one of the most competitive categories in the NNN lease market. Four brands now dominate investor conversations: Starbucks, Dutch Bros, 7 Brew, and Scooter’s Coffee. Each carries a different lease structure, a different credit profile, and a different return equation. Here is where each brand stands as a commercial real estate tenant in 2026.
Why Coffee QSR NNN Properties Are a Top Investor Target in 2026
Coffee belongs in a different category than most quick-service food. A $5 to $6 coffee purchase holds its place in a household budget even when restaurant spending contracts. Dutch Bros reported a 5.4% rise in customer visits in Q4 2025, a period when broader restaurant traffic fell across the industry. Drive-thru-only coffee kiosks also run between 500 and 1,000 square feet, a fraction of a traditional QSR footprint. Smaller buildings mean lower construction costs, lower tenant occupancy expenses, and better unit economics — savings that create a financial buffer between revenue and rent obligations. Our Coffee Shop NNN Lease Investment Guide 2026 covers these structural advantages in depth.
Starbucks Lease in 2026: Investment-Grade Credit, NN Structure, and What That Means for Landlords
Starbucks holds a BBB+/Baa1 credit rating from S&P and Moody’s, which places it at the top tier of the NNN market alongside McDonald’s. New 10-year corporate leases come with 10% rent increases every five years, backed by the full Starbucks corporate balance sheet.
One distinction that sets Starbucks apart from every other brand in this comparison: Starbucks properties are double net (NN), not absolute NNN. Under a Starbucks NN lease, the landlord holds responsibility for the roof and structure, and sometimes parking lot and utility systems, including HVAC. The tenant covers taxes, insurance, and all interior operating costs. As we cover in our post on what the landlord pays for in a triple net lease, this structure is common with certain high-credit brands and does not have to be a deal-breaker — but it does require eyes-open due diligence. Properties trade at average cap rates near 5.65%, with about 200 available in the market at any time — a cap rate that reflects both the investment-grade credit quality and the landlord responsibilities the lease carries.
In practice, a new-construction Starbucks drive-thru comes with builder warranties on roof and structure that cover the early years of ownership, and the brand’s 1,500- to 2,000-square-foot footprint keeps the scale of those potential responsibilities modest. Westwood’s advisors evaluate the building age, warranty status, and realistic cost exposure of those obligations on every Starbucks property before you make an offer — so you know exactly what you own before you close.
The company undertook a $1 billion restructuring in fiscal 2025 that included closures of underperforming stores in dense urban markets. CEO Brian Niccol’s “Back to Starbucks” strategy calls for net store growth in fiscal 2026 and plans to remodel more than 1,000 locations. The company confirmed in its most recent earnings call that it remains committed to a BBB+/Baa1 credit rating target. Those closures concentrated in urban cafes, not the suburban drive-thru format that most NNN properties represent. Investors who want investment-grade corporate credit and a decades-long performance record across two recessions and a global pandemic tend to reach for Starbucks first.
Dutch Bros NNN Lease in 2026: 19 Consecutive Years of Same-Store Sales Growth
Dutch Bros (NYSE: BROS) reported record revenue of $1.64 billion in 2025, a 27.9% year-over-year increase. The company operated 1,136 locations in 25 states at year-end 2025 and targets 2,029 locations by 2029. Q4 2025 comparable store sales rose 7.7% — a result that came amid broad restaurant industry traffic declines. Dutch Bros has now delivered 19 consecutive years of positive same-store sales growth, a streak that spans the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Dutch Bros leases are 15-year absolute NNN structures with 10% rent increases every five years. The tenant covers all expenses: taxes, insurance, maintenance, roof, structure, and parking lot. Cap rates have compressed below 5.25%, which reflects the institutional demand for a brand that pairs small-footprint drive-thru convenience with a $2.1 million average unit volume (AUV). That AUV means each location can support $120,000 to $150,000 in annual rent at a rent-to-sales ratio between 5.7% and 7.1% — a cushion wide enough to absorb a meaningful sales decline before rent coverage comes under pressure.
Dutch Bros is a public company without a formal investment-grade credit rating from S&P or Moody’s. Its balance sheet carried $269 million in cash as of December 2025, and its financial disclosures are fully audited. For investors who follow the brand’s trajectory and want exposure to a concept with clear national expansion ahead, the trade-off between an unrated public company and a BBB+ corporate guarantee makes sense at current cap rates.
7 Brew NNN Lease in 2026: Fastest-Growing Drive-Thru Concept and How Westwood Helps You Evaluate It
7 Brew Coffee operated over 600 locations at the end of 2025, up from just seven locations in 2021. The brand is now the second-largest drive-thru-only coffee chain in the country behind Dutch Bros. Blackstone made a growth equity investment in 7 Brew in Q1 2024, a strong institutional signal for a concept that QSR Magazine named its Breakout Brand of 2023. Average unit-level sales reached $2,040,883 in 2024. Cap rates for 7 Brew properties range from 5.75% to 7.00%.
New 7 Brew leases run 15 to 20 years as absolute NNN structures. The tenant covers all expenses, and the brand’s 510-square-foot kiosk format qualifies for 100% bonus depreciation under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed in July 2025. The great majority of 7 Brew locations are franchise-operated, which means lease guaranty structures vary based on the specific operator.
This is exactly where Westwood’s buyer representation adds value. Our advisors evaluate the guarantor’s credit, the operator’s multi-unit track record, and the development agreement behind the lease before you make an offer. Westwood has represented buyers on over $2 billion in NNN transactions, and that experience shows you how a specific 7 Brew deal compares to market benchmarks before you commit capital. Our representation costs you nothing. For more on what to look for in a franchisee guaranty, see our post on NNN tenant credit ratings.
Scooter’s Coffee NNN Lease in 2026: 900 Stores, Consistent Growth, and Higher Yields
Scooter’s Coffee crossed 900 locations across 32 states in February 2026, following 10% unit growth in 2025 and 16% in 2024. Systemwide sales grew 81.5% between 2022 and 2024, reaching $723 million. The brand ranked ninth on the 2026 Franchise Times Fast & Serious list — its fifth consecutive year in the top ten. A major April 2026 multi-store development agreement with Boddie-Noell Enterprises, the nation’s largest Hardee’s franchise operator, signals the quality of multi-unit operators now committed to the brand’s expansion.
Scooter’s leases run 15 to 20 years as absolute NNN structures with rent increases that range from 1.5% annual bumps to 10% every five years, based on the specific deal. Cap rates for Scooter’s properties land in the 6.5% to 7.5% range — the highest yields available in the coffee NNN category. The brand’s SBA franchise loan default rate stands at 0.0%.
Almost every Scooter’s location is franchisee-owned, which makes the lease guarantor analysis central to any deal evaluation. Westwood’s advisors conduct that analysis on your behalf as part of the buyer representation process.
How to Match a Coffee NNN Tenant to Your Investment Goals in 2026
The four brands form a spectrum from maximum credit certainty to maximum yield.
Starbucks suits investors who want investment-grade corporate credit, top-tier lender confidence, and a multi-decade performance record. The NN lease structure means the landlord carries responsibility for roof, structure, parking lot, and utility systems — obligations Westwood evaluates on every deal. Cap rates near 5.65% reflect both the credit quality and that lease structure.
Dutch Bros suits investors who want a public company with audited financials, 19 consecutive years of same-store sales growth, and a brand with a clear path to doubling its store count. Cap rates below 5.25% are competitive for what the lease delivers.
7 Brew suits investors who want higher yields and exposure to the fastest-growth brand in the drive-thru coffee category, with Blackstone institutional backing. Westwood’s due diligence process ensures the specific guarantor matches your credit threshold before you proceed.
Scooter’s Coffee suits investors who want the highest yields in the segment, a proven franchise system with a 0.0% SBA default rate, and a brand at an early stage of national scale.
For a full picture of where the NNN market stands today, our 2025 Year in Review for NNN Lease Investors and post on NNN lease tax benefits in 2026 give you the context you need before any acquisition. Our 2024 NNN lease market update and analysis of NNN performance in volatile markets document why coffee QSR assets held their value through the rate increase cycle.
Talk to a Westwood Buyer’s Advisor About Coffee NNN Properties
The right coffee NNN tenant depends on your credit threshold, your yield target, your tax position, and your timeline. Westwood Net Lease Advisors works on the buy side only. Our advisors represent your interests from property identification through closing, at no cost to you.
The timing matters in 2026. As we cover in our post on why 2026’s $875 billion debt maturity wall is good news for NNN buyers, a significant volume of commercial real estate debt is coming due this year at borrowing costs nearly double what owners paid at origination. Some of those owners hold strong NNN assets — corporate-backed leases, long remaining terms, contractual rent escalations — and need to exit. The buyer who steps in inherits the lease, not the seller’s capital problem. Coffee QSR properties are part of that opportunity set. Motivated sellers create pricing conversations that don’t exist in a stable market.
Call 314-997-5227 or contact us today to review coffee QSR properties that match your investment criteria and see how Starbucks, Dutch Bros, 7 Brew, and Scooter’s compare in the current market.
