7 Brew officially cut the ribbon Tuesday on its first State College-area location at 1923 S. Atherton St. in the Hills Plaza. The drive-thru stand, part of a national chain offering coffee, tea, smoothies and energy drinks, began serving customers on Friday.
The opening included a check presented to THON, the Penn State student-run philanthropy supporting pediatric cancer research and care. The company is known for partnering with local nonprofits in each community where it launches new stores.
Matt Peters, 7 Brew’s Pennsylvania director of operations, said the team has been energized by the response and support by the State College and Penn State community.
“It’s been a really, really great opening so far. It’s been really exciting,” Peters said. “It takes a village to open any of these locations. The first thing is opening, and then the second thing is operating and continuing our 7 Brew values and brand within the community that we’re in because without the community, we wouldn’t be here.”
Peters said the location gave out more than $37,000 worth of free drinks during its first weekend and raised approximately $7,383 for THON through customer donations. THON 2026 Hospitality Director Nathan Reish accepted the check at the ceremony on behalf of THON.
“Over the weekend, we were doing free small drinks from 7 [a.m.] to 7 [p.m.] Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and any donations went directly to THON,” Peters said. “We were able to raise over $7,000, that’ll go directly to you guys. It just warms our hearts, like it’s so cool, the support of people that were coming through.”
Peters said the opening weekend turnout exceeded expectations.
“We weren’t expecting the weekend to be that crazy, and we loved it,” Peters said. “People were excited for coffee, but they were really excited to make a difference. I could see it in their eyes.”
Franchisee Brew Team Group chose State College, Peters said, because of its community-focused values.
“We’re about cultivating kindness,” he said. “So any town or area we can go into where we feel like we can really represent our brands, mission and values is the biggest puzzle piece fitting spot for us.
“State College is obviously a huge college town. For us, it made a lot of sense to glue all the puzzle pieces together and make a huge impact for the community, for the college students, for THON as well. We’re really, really excited to continue growing on this side of town, and hopefully, maybe one day get on the other side of town.”
The new drive-thru includes a 540-square-foot prefabricated building with drive-thru dual lanes. Staff take orders on iPads and deliver drinks to customers in their vehicles with a canopy and heaters protecting employees during colder weather.
The store offers more than 20,000 unique drink combinations. Since its inception in 2017, 7 Brew has already expanded with over 500 stores nationwide in less than a decade.
The store will host a Swag Day on Friday, Dec. 12, where customers who buy a large drink receive a free T-shirt as part of the company’s weeklong “7 Days of 7 Brew” holiday promotion.
The company plans to open new locations in Altoona, Allentown and Johnstown in 2026, along with additional sites in eastern Pennsylvania. Peters said 7 Brew also hopes to eventually open another location on the north side of State College in coming years.
The State College location is open 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
