Dutch Bros wants to plant its double-drive-thru flag in Wildlight, filing plans for a coffee kiosk along Florida 200 about two miles east of Interstate 95 in the sprawling Yulee master-planned community. It would mark the chain's first foothold in Nassau County and, by latitude, its northernmost location anywhere in Florida.
The project is currently under review through an environmental resource permit application, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record, which first reported the filing. Sloan Engineering Group Inc., based in Bartow, Florida, is listed as the civil engineer on the project. The proposed site would put the new kiosk about nine miles north of an existing Dutch Bros store in Pensacola, giving it the distinction of the state's farthest-north location.
Nassau County's Development Review Committee has not yet reviewed the Wildlight project, and that committee review is the first formal step in the county's building permit process. Separately, the environmental resource permit application is being reviewed by the St. Johns River Water Management District, the agency responsible for evaluating stormwater management, surface water runoff, and wetland impacts before commercial construction can proceed, as Hoodline has previously reported.
A Fast-Growing Company Chasing a Fast-Growing County
Dutch Bros has been on a tear across Northeast Florida since opening its first regional kiosk in August 2024. The chain has since opened five Northeast Florida kiosks — in Baymeadows, St. Augustine, Saint Johns, Southwest Jacksonville and West Jacksonville — and has identified at least 15 locations either open or targeted for construction across the region, per the Jacksonville Daily Record's reporting. Those Northeast Florida builds fit a familiar mold: compact, roughly 986-square-foot kiosks with double drive-thru lanes and no indoor seating, with recent Jacksonville-area construction costs estimated between $630,000 and $670,000, Hoodline reported in its coverage of two other planned Jacksonville drive-thrus.
The chain, known for specialty coffee, teas, lemonades, smoothies and its Rebel energy drinks, is riding a wave of national momentum. Dutch Bros generated $1.64 billion in total revenue in 2025, a 27.9% jump from the prior year, and opened 154 new stores to reach 1,136 locations across 25 states, according to Retail & Leisure International. The company has said it plans to open at least 181 new shops in 2026 as it works toward a long-term target of 2,029 stores nationwide by 2029.
Wildlight's Rapid Buildout Is Drawing the Chains
Wildlight itself is a 24,000-acre master-planned community developed by Raydient Places + Properties, a subsidiary of Rayonier Inc., and it's designed to eventually hold 24,000 residential units and 11 million square feet of commercial space alongside more than 10,500 acres of preserved conservation land, per JLL Capital Markets. The development already includes residential, retail, office and health care components, and it hosts corporate headquarters for Rayonier and Florida Public Utilities along with medical facilities tied to UF Health, Baptist Health and HCA Healthcare.
That growth mirrors what's happening countywide. Nassau County's population grew 18.28% between 2020 and 2025 to roughly 107,000 residents, making it the seventh-fastest-growing county in Florida by percentage increase, according to the county's own demographic reporting. Nearby, Raydient advanced plans last year for 365 single-family home lots across three phases in Wildlight's new Garden District near Riverbluff Parkway and Pages Dairy Road, adding more rooftops within easy reach of the proposed kiosk, as Hoodline detailed in its coverage of Wildlight's home-lot boom.
Crowded Drive-Thru Field Along State Road 200
Dutch Bros won't have Nassau County's caffeinated commuters to itself. Ellianos Coffee, the Florida-based chain founded in 2002, opened a location in Callahan this past March, adding to its existing Fernandina Beach and West Jacksonville shops, according to the Yulee News. That expansion adds to a regional field that already includes 7 Brew and Starbucks competing for prime outparcels in Nassau County.
Much of Dutch Bros' strategy leans on digital engagement rather than storefront square footage. The company's Dutch Rewards loyalty program accounts for 74% of all Dutch Bros transactions nationwide, generating first-party customer data that helps drive same-store sales growth and targeted promotions, according to Street Fight. Dutch Bros reported 8.3% systemwide same-store sales growth in the first quarter of 2026, the outlet noted, underscoring how the compact, high-speed kiosk model is built to capture commuter traffic during morning and daytime hours.
Wildlight's commercial buildout continues on other fronts as well. Community First Credit Union broke ground in January on a 3,100-square-foot branch in Wildlight, slated to open later this year as part of the broader commercial push along State Road 200 — a project Hoodline covered as the credit union's third Nassau County location. For now, the Dutch Bros kiosk remains in the permitting phase, with both the county's Development Review Committee process and the state's environmental resource permit review still ahead before any construction can begin.
