In Business: Park Rapids Coffee Shop Moves to New Location, Building and All

A local coffee shop in Park Rapids reopened earlier this year after packing up and moving everything – including the building itself – to a new location.

Espresso 34 is a locally-owned drive-thru coffee shop located in Park Rapids off Highway 34, which the shop is named after. The original location opened in 2011, but the business has seen some major changes in the past few years.

“We picked up the building from our old location, which was built in 2011 and we moved in 2021,” said Espresso 34 manager Brighton Robbins. “So we closed down for a year, almost exactly to the day, and then we reopened at this location March 4th.”

The company did not expect to be closed down for an entire year, but the paperwork and legal aspects of opening the new location was a major deal. They picked up the entire building and drove it down the road to the new plot, renovating both the inside of the shop as well as the land around it.

“We didn’t have perfect highway access,” Brighton added. “we had to get easements through our neighbors and stuff, so that took longer than expected. We really like this location, so we’re happy to be here.”

With plenty of highway and foot traffic, Espresso 34 has seen lots of success in their first few months. The drive-thru cafe is a local favorite, especially since they serve Dillanos Coffee, which is brewed out in Washington and shipped to cafes around the country. But Espresso 34 is the only place within nearly 2,000 miles that sells it.

Along with the special coffee, the store boasts a full menu with food smoothies and an entire kids menu. According to Brighton, the customers are also known for being great.

“I love it,” she stated. “It’s so much fun. I meet such good people and the atmosphere is amazing.”

Espresso 34 is now fully open for business and back to their regular schedule, which can be found on their Facebook page.