A coffee chain famous for a vanilla-laced drink it calls the Best Drink Ever is laying the groundwork for a Folsom cafe, with a hiring push now underway for a shop planned at 1016 E. Bidwell St. Better Buzz Coffee Roasters has not opened the location yet, but a general manager job posting suggests the chain is moving ahead with plans to bring its drive-thru and walk-in format to the Sacramento area.
Former Fast-Food Site Targeted for New Cafe
The Folsom shop is expected to take over a building that has housed a Carl's Jr. for almost 30 years, after the fast-food restaurant opened there in 1997, according to the Sacramento Bee. A LinkedIn job listing for the location confirms the Bidwell Street address and describes the opening as a brand new location, though neither the chain nor local officials have announced a firm timeline for when doors might open. The Bee also reported that Folsom approved Better Buzz's tenant design review plans, per reporting from the Sacramento Business Journal, which first noted that the chain could fill the Carl's Jr. building in a September report from bizjournals.com.
According to the Bee, Better Buzz did not respond to the paper's request for comment, and the menu planned for the Folsom location has not yet been determined. The LinkedIn posting for the general manager role describes the company as roasting its own organic, fair-trade and rainforest-certified coffee weekly, using organic beans approved by California Certified Organic Farmers.
What's on the Menu Elsewhere
Better Buzz's calling card is the Best Drink Ever, an Americano or latte made with water, espresso and vanilla that the chain markets as creamy and sweet, per the Bee. Other beverages at its existing locations include a honey latte, mocha latte, cold brew and chai, while food options have included avocado toast, açai bowls and breakfast sandwiches. The Press-Enterprise, covering a pair of December 2025 openings in Temecula and San Jacinto, reported that each Better Buzz location maintains its own menu, so what eventually lands on the Folsom menu board may differ from other shops.
Foods at other locations have also included sandwiches and wraps, the same report notes. Limited-time items have occasionally become permanent additions elsewhere in the chain; a Chili Crunch Breakfast Wrap, Iced London Fog and Sea Salt Caramel Latte launched as limited-time offerings in January, with the wrap later added to the core menu, according to Food Manufacturing.
From a Coffee Cart to Dozens of Stores
Better Buzz launched its first store in San Diego in 2002, founded by two college students who started out running a coffee cart, per the LinkedIn posting. The Bee reports the chain has since opened 59 drive-thru and walk-in locations across California, Arizona and Nevada, with almost 50 stores in Southern California alone, as it now expands into the Sacramento area.
That growth has been rapid in recent years. Food Manufacturing's report described the chain doubling its store count from 12 to 24 over a two-year span, with plans at the time to double again to 48 locations, while pushing eastward into Arizona and Nevada alongside additional Southern California openings. That expansion phase included a dozen locations in the pipeline — three in Las Vegas, six more in Phoenix, an additional Orange County shop and two more in San Diego — along with earlier openings in Laguna Hills, a 19th San Diego-area location in Oceanside and the chain's first out-of-state shop in Uptown Phoenix.
More recently, the Press-Enterprise reported that Better Buzz opened its first San Jacinto drive-thru on Dec. 11 and planned to open a second Temecula location at 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 20, bringing its Riverside County count to four locations. That same report put the chain's total at 55 locations, tracing back to origins with a four-wheel coffee cart in a business park. Whether the Folsom shop will open with the full lineup of signature drinks or a pared-down local menu remains to be seen, but the hiring posting signals the chain is treating the Bidwell Street address as a real next step in its Northern California push.
