Alaska Trends

Kiosks. Stands. Shacks. Huts. Whatever they’re called, Alaskans are familiar with the phenomenon: a structure that accommodates one or two people, food and beverage equipment, and a window or two for serving drive-up customers. These types of coffee shops may not be unique to Alaska, but they’ve become ubiquitous along the state’s urban and rural roadways.

In Amy Newman’s article “Barista in a Box,” operators from Homer to Kotzebue share what they’ve learned about the quirks of coffee huts. This edition of Alaska Trends surveyed coffee kiosks for a more quantitative perspective.

To collect this data, Alaska Business created an online survey that was shared with coffee kiosk owners across the state. Of those invited to take the survey, twenty-three kiosk owners opted to answer. All of the data is from those twenty-three respondents and does not necessarily represent averages or trends for the whole industry.

If they aren’t already a part of your daily routine, make sure to visit the coffee huts listed below to join us in saying thank you for their contributions to this big-picture look at an industry characterized by very small footprints.

96% have employees
Vector of two people shaking hands
21 of 23 kiosks are located on land owned by someone else; agreements with the landowners for the space range from a “gentleman’s handshake” to paying rent.
1/3 raised prices in last 3 mo. due to inflation
When we asked our kiosk owners, “When was the most recent time that you increased your prices?” their answers all confirmed our staff’s experience of “recently.”
Bar graph of raising prices with bars shaped like coffee cups
Vector of car at a drive thru
17% own more than one kiosk
Vector of 3 small drive thru kiosks
The number of employees reported by respondents per kiosk ranges from 2 to 16
Vector of 16 baristas holding mugs
Sack of coffee beans with image of Alaska on front
74% of kiosks source their coffee in Alaska.
Coffee cup and CBD tincture bottle
2 kiosks report selling CBD products; both say CBD products are purchased daily.
48% reported stocking 1 variety of coffee bean
Pie chart of coffee varieties in the shape of a bean
Kiosks stocked up to 10 types of milk; most reported stocking 5 types of milk.
Carton of milk
96% of kiosks sell food.
Croissant
According to our kiosks, the most popular food items are ham & cheese croissants and breakfast burritos.
On average, respondents reported using 2,325 pounds of coffee per kiosk per year.
2 sacks of coffee beans
16 of the 23 respondents track the number of paper cups they use per kiosk per year; in a year, those 16 combined use almost 600,000 cups.
Coffee cup
Thank you
Aftershock Espresso
Toasted Joe’s
Latin Drip Cafe
Groundz Espresso & Co.
Raven Lunatic Espresso
Tha Java Junctions
Palmer Coffee Co.
Feller’s Espresso Wagon
Coop’s Coffee
Goldie’s Coffee Roasters
Habits Coffee Co.
Liberty Lattes
Seward’s Cup
Lulu’s Coffee Stand
Lead Dog Espresso
Spenard Grinds
Wren’s Drive Thru
Shorty’s Coffee Company
Coho Coffee Co.
Heavenly Cup
Fresh Start Espresso
Java Hut
Northern Lights Espresso
Kiosk owners overwhelmingly reported opening a kiosk because “I love coffee. A lot.”
Map of Alaska
Coffee kiosks located the furthest north and south were Kotzebue and Dillingham.
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