Keeping the coffee hot while keeping the customers cool

One of the biggest challenges for businesses in Tempe, Ariz., is the need to mitigate heat gain.

The Dutch Bros Coffee shop in Tempe’s City Center District is one of a dozen such shops for the popular chain in the region. Not only does this shade canopy help reduce ambient heat gain, it also helps to get cars off the local streets by funneling cars through an on-site order lane.

“This store is a high-volume store due to its location,” says Josh Henderson, of SHADE Industries, the designer and fabricator of this elegant shade sails project. “It expedites the process as coffee orders are taken by baristas.” According to Dutch Bros Coffee, this is one of their busiest shops in the metro area, so keeping the drive-thru lane under shade helps keeps customers happy.

Comprised of three overlapping four-point shade sails, the canopy is supported on eight square columns that line the driveway leading to the order window. The color of both the fabric sails and columns matches the Dutch Bros signature blue. Matching colors was a challenge, says SHADE Industries: “Finding the accurate color included the corporate-approved proprietary blend of paint, on special order. Landscaping of the site also involved removing two mature trees and replacing them with younger trees that met city requirements.”