Exit 11 Coffee is swapping its longtime trailer in the Cinema 1 Plus parking lot for a brand-new brick-and-mortar building going up next to Phoenix Center I, but the coffee chain's owner has hit a wall trying to bring her sign along for the move. The Washington Board of Adjustment reviewed Exit 11 Coffee's request to repurpose its existing 20-square-foot sign on the new structure, and board members said their hands were tied by city code even as they recommended the whole ordinance get a second look.
A Sign That Can't Simply Move With the Business
According to The Missourian, Washington City Planner Aaron Beckman explained that Exit 11's sign is classified under city code as a freestanding pole sign attached to a non-permanent trailer — a designation that legally prevents it from simply being transferred and mounted as a wall sign on the new permanent building. Owner Angela Garland had hoped to reuse the sign instead of discarding it, telling the board it represented a $10,000 initial investment back when the trailer first went up. She argued that smaller, code-compliant signage would be lost among the far larger commercial signs already surrounding the shopping complex.
The city approved a $40,000 building permit in July for Exit 11 Coffee to construct a standalone dual-lane drive-thru next to Phoenix Center I, according to a separate Missourian report, formalizing the business's shift away from its original trailer setup. Angela Garland's company has since grown into an eight-location regional chain. Per UMSL Daily, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce named Exit 11 one of the top 100 small businesses in America in late 2025.
Board Members Sympathize, But Say City Code Prevents Approval
Board members said they sympathized with Exit 11's situation but could not approve the variance, the same outcome that has played out repeatedly over the past year as the board's requests have increasingly centered on signage disputes. In November 2025, the board turned down a similar request from Mattress Dogzzz, which sought larger signage over visibility concerns; the board understood the concern but said it could not grant the variance on those grounds.
Board Recommends City Review of Sign Rules
The Board of Adjustment recommended that the city review its commercial sign ordinance, and city officials have said they are considering that review.
