Dutch Bros Coffee is up to at least 14 area locations, including its first in Old Arlington, as it prepares to develop a drive-thru kiosk at the site of the relocated Arlington Flower Shop.
A developer for the Arizona-based coffee kiosk chain bought the florist shop at 7130 Merrill Road where it intends to redevelop the 61-year-old property.
A sign at the property says the flower shop moved March 1, and an associate confirmed March 10 that Arlington Flower Shop moved to 987 University Blvd N. in College Park, the former Town & Country Shopping Center at northeast Arlington Expressway and University Boulevard. JWB Real Estate Capital owns College Park, where leasing is handled by The Urban Division of Colliers.
Flower shop workers welcomed visitors March 11 as they filled orders and continued to set up and arrange the 1.981-square-foot store, which is near a Winn-Dixie grocery store and in a courtyard near Arlington Bait & Tackle.
Dutch Bros also will be joining the Renew Arlington Community Redevelopment Area, a designation that the city uses to help rejuvenate major corridors, including Merrill Road, in the neighborhood.
District 1 City Council member Ken Amaro looks forward to seeing the business in the area he represents.
“I believe Dutch Bros will be a welcome sight to Arlington,” he said by email March 11.
“While there is an effort to revive Old Arlington, the doors are opened to new and creative businesses the community can patronize.”
Amaro said he is pleased as well that Arlington Flower Shop remains in his district and in Old Arlington.
“I am also glad to see that the flower shop has decided to remain in Arlington. It has been a contributor to the quality of life here for decades and will continue to serve Arlington residents from its new location,” he said.
Trish Kapustka, a 30-year Arlington resident, considers it “another great development for Arlington.”
Kapustka is a board member of the Old Arlington Inc. preservation and advocacy group and the JAX Chamber Arlington Council.
“Not only has our favorite flower shop moved to College Park, but we’re also gaining a new coffee concept that already has a loyal following. This is one more example of the significant investment and progress happening across the area,” she said. “As a long-time Arlington resident, I am optimist about the future of Arlington.”
While Arlington documents its history from the early 1800s, the neighborhood flourished as one of the city’s first suburbs after the Mathews Bridge opened in 1953, connecting it to Downtown.
The Arlington site
Dutch Bros intends to build its signature drive-thru kiosk with a walk-up window in the area that Old Arlington Inc. defines as east and south of the St. Johns River, with Atlantic Boulevard as the southern boundary and Mill Creek and Hartsfield roads as the eastern edge.
Through CVP-Merrill DB LLC, Cole Valley Partners LLC of Portland, Oregon, bought the southeast Merrill Road and Charbray Drive property Jan. 12, 2026, from Varnes Capital LLC of Jacksonville.
Cole Valley paid $840,000 for the almost half-acre property.
Those parcels comprise the site of the 2,958-square-foot flower shop store built in 1965 and an adjacent parking lot.
Varnes Capital paid $280,000 for the sites in April 2018.
The shop is across the street from Publix Super Markets Inc. at northwest Merrill Road and Townsend Boulevard. It is about 2 miles east of Jacksonville University.
Cole Valley plans to develop a Dutch Bros drive-thru and lease it to Boersma Bros. LLC, according to a memorandum of lease recorded with the Duval County Clerk of Court. Boersma Bros. is a subsidiary of Dutch Bros.
Brothers Dane and Travis Boersma started Dutch Bros in 1992 in Grants Pass, Oregon. It is now a public company based in Tempe, Arizona.
Besides specialty coffee, Dutch Bros sells its Rebel energy drink and Nitro Cold Brew coffee.
It offers teas, lemonades, smoothies and its signature Dutch sodas and serves a limited menu of pastries, granola bars and muffin tops with no cooking on-site.
Arlington Flower Shop
ArlingtonFlowerShop.com says the flower shop has been family owned and operated since 1927, which means it turns a century next year.
It says it delivers floral arrangements, corsages, plants and gift baskets to Jacksonville, Atlantic Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, Orange Park and Ponte Vedra Beach.
“Three generations of serving customers in Jacksonville and worldwide! Over 75 years of service has taught us how to do it right,” the site says.
“We know flowers...period! We measure our success one customer at a time! Designs created from simple elegance to custom extravagance! Let us create something special for your special needs!”
The shop opens 8 a.m. Monday through Saturday and closes 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday. It is closed Sunday.
State corporate records show that Benjamin Cox, Orvidale Cox and Larry Turner registered Arlington Flower Shop with the state in May 1978.
Allan Varnes, as president and vice president, became the new registered agent for Arlington Flower Shop in November 2017, replacing B. Steve Cox.
Varnes Capital LLC is owned by Allan Varnes and Joan Varnes, who also own Arlington Flower Shop Inc. Ownership has not responded to several calls and visits to the shop for comments.
Site reviews
A Dutch Bros at the site has been in review for at least eight months, with those involved declining comment.
Three regulatory filings indicated the plans.
First, city utility JEA issued a service availability letter July 3 to Cole Valley Partners LLC for a proposed 950-square-foot drive-thru coffee shop with no indoor seating on the site of the flower shop.
Second, the city issued a Mobility Fee Calculation Certificate on Oct. 13 for Dutch Bros Coffee to develop a 986-square-foot drive-thru shop with no indoor seating on two parcels totaling 0.51 acres.
Taylor & White Inc. of Jacksonville is the applicant and civil engineer for the project. It said in a statement Oct. 20 that it was “not at liberty to comment on this project at this time.”
Third, civil engineering plans were filed with the city Nov. 18 for a 986-square-foot double-drive-thru with a canopy for Dutch Bros Coffee on the 0.51-acre site.
Cole Valley Partners was listed as the developer. Cole Valley Partners Senior Development Manager Mitchell Reynolds responded Oct. 20 by email saying the group was looking at the property for potential development but had not confirmed a user.
As of Oct. 18, 2025, the www.realty.com, www.weichert.com and www.crexi.com real estate sites showed the property at 7130 Merrill Road as listed for sale at $928,000.
The crexi.com site identified Eric Ramirez of Ramirez Commercial Realty Inc. in Jacksonville as the listing broker. It said the property was listed March 5, 2025.
Ramirez said by email Oct. 19 he “cannot comment at this time.”
Dutch Bros to date
Since August 2024, Dutch Bros has opened five area kiosks in Baymeadows, St. Augustine, Saint Johns, Southwest Jacksonville and West Jacksonville.
Nine more potential Dutch Bros Coffee sites now have been identified in Harbour Village, East Arlington, Flagler Center, Mandarin, Old Arlington, West Jacksonville, and three in St. Johns County.
The potential East Arlington location at southwest Monument and McCormick roads is 4.5 miles east of the Merrill Road site.