Dutch Bros Coffee is finally set to build a drive-thru in front of Washington Square Mall on Indianapolis' far east side, after the Indianapolis Board of Zoning Appeals took up the proposal at 10220 East Washington Street on Tuesday and moved the project past a land-use dispute that had stalled it for two years.
The coffee chain returned to the board seeking a variance from the city's transit-oriented development rules, according to IndyStar. The site sits along a stretch of East Washington Street that IndyGo is transforming into a rapid-transit corridor, and the same board denied Dutch Bros a similar variance in November 2024 after Department of Metropolitan Development staff found the proposal did not meet requirements for a bypass aisle and storefront-window transparency, as reported by the Indianapolis Business Journal.
The parcel in question has been an eyesore for years. It previously housed a Golden Corral restaurant that burned down, leaving a vacant, blighted lot directly in front of the mall along one of the east side's major commercial strips, the outlet notes. IndyGo raised no formal objections to the newest Dutch Bros proposal, while local representatives pushed for redevelopment of the long-empty site, according to a report from Michael-Paul Hart.
A Zoning Rule Built Around the Blue Line
At the center of the dispute is Indianapolis' Transit-Oriented Development overlay, which bars drive-thrus within 600 feet of a rapid-transit station unless the structure sits fully behind the main building. The City-County Council enacted the TOD overlay districts to align land-use rules with mass transit investments along the Red, Purple, and Blue Lines, per WFYI.
The rule exists because of the Blue Line, IndyGo's 24-mile, $378 million Bus Rapid Transit project that broke ground in February 2025 and will connect Indianapolis International Airport to Cumberland along Washington Street, with full service targeted for 2028. It is IndyGo's third BRT line and will replace its heavily traveled Route 8 bus route, per the same Indianapolis Business Journal reporting. Beyond moving buses, the project is rebuilding the corridor itself: it includes about 9.7 miles of new or replaced sidewalks and more than 340 ADA curb ramps, with over half of the Blue Line's overall budget dedicated to non-transit civil infrastructure like drainage and street repaving.
Part of a Pattern Along Washington Street
Dutch Bros is not the first auto-oriented business to collide with the TOD overlay on this corridor. Convenience chain Wawa faced similar resistance before winning a 6-2 approval from the Metropolitan Development Commission in December 2025 for an $8 million store and gas station at 7100 East Washington Street, as Hoodline previously reported; critics had opposed that project over pedestrian safety concerns and a high saturation of nearby gas stations.
Local businesses have run into the same wall. Ibarra Auto Sales came before the Metropolitan Development Commission for a variance in February 2026 at 3441 West Washington Street; the case involved multiple hearings and an indecisive vote, and the variance was ultimately granted. The case illustrates how walkable zoning rules can create challenges for small property owners alongside national chains.
A National Chain on an Aggressive Growth Run
The east side approval lands as Dutch Bros pushes hard into new markets nationally. Coming off $1.64 billion in revenue in 2025, the company projected opening roughly 181 new drive-thru locations in 2026 as part of a strategic push toward 2,029 stores nationwide by 2029, according to KPC Media. The chain has more than doubled its footprint since 2021, expanding to over 1,100 locations across 25 states.
That expansion has reached Indiana, including the East Side project described above. The proposal illustrates the local zoning review required for the chain's drive-thru growth.
Balancing Walkability Against a Blighted Lot
The tension playing out at 10220 East Washington Street reflects a broader balancing act for Indianapolis planners. Through the TOD overlay, the city is trying to leverage its $378 million Blue Line investment to build walkable, denser, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, even though Washington Street historically developed as an auto-centric commercial artery dominated by surface parking lots, strip malls, and drive-thrus.
Projects like Dutch Bros, Wawa, and local auto dealerships show how national and local developers keep running up against those rigid rules, and boards like the Board of Zoning Appeals and Metropolitan Development Commission are left weighing urban design standards against community pressure to clear long-blighted properties such as the former Golden Corral site. Other redevelopment is planned along the corridor, including Saraga's planned East Washington store.
