Hardee’s Franchisee Expands With Scooter’s Coffee

Boddie-Noell Enterprises Adds Scooter’s Coffee to Its Franchise Portfolio

Boddie-Noell Enterprises, the largest Hardee’s franchisee in the United States, is expanding beyond burgers and entering the fast-growing coffee segment through a major development agreement with Scooter’s Coffee. The company plans to open at least 31 new Scooter’s Coffee drive-thru locations across North Carolina and Virginia, marking a significant step in its diversification strategy.

With more than 330 Hardee’s restaurants already under its operation, Boddie-Noell brings decades of restaurant management experience to the coffee franchise sector. The expansion will also make the company the largest Scooter’s Coffee franchisee operating in North Carolina and Virginia. While North Carolina already has a growing Scooter’s presence, Virginia currently has no operating locations, creating a major growth opportunity for the brand.

Why Scooter’s Coffee Fits Boddie-Noell’s Growth Strategy

Executives from both companies emphasized that the partnership is built around shared values, community engagement and customer-focused operations. Scooter’s Coffee has intentionally avoided focusing solely on large metropolitan markets and instead continues targeting suburban and smaller-town communities where strong local relationships matter.

Mike Hancock, executive vice president of Boddie-Noell Enterprises, explained that the company’s culture aligns naturally with Scooter’s Coffee because both organizations prioritize serving hometown communities rather than chasing dense urban markets.

The drive-thru coffee brand has built its reputation around convenience, hospitality and strong neighborhood connections. Scooter’s Coffee locations are known for creating loyal customer bases through personalized service, local involvement and community participation.

Scooter’s Coffee Continues Rapid Franchise Expansion

Scooter’s Coffee has experienced major franchise growth in recent years. The coffee chain currently operates approximately 920 locations nationwide and is projected to surpass 1,000 stores by the end of 2026. The menu includes hot and iced coffee beverages, teas, smoothies and food offerings designed for quick-service convenience.

According to company leadership, Scooter’s Coffee attracts increasing interest from large multi-unit franchise groups. However, the company remains selective about franchise partnerships and prioritizes operators that remain deeply connected to the communities they serve.

Community involvement remains central to the brand’s identity. Franchisees are encouraged to participate in local organizations, sponsor youth sports teams, support charities and actively engage with neighborhood businesses.

Scooter’s executives believe that strong guest relationships are what separate successful beverage brands from competitors in an increasingly crowded coffee market. While product quality remains important, the customer experience and local familiarity are viewed as the true differentiators.

A Blend of Scale and Community-Focused Operations

Scooter’s Coffee leadership believes Boddie-Noell Enterprises offers a rare combination of operational scale and local market understanding. Operating hundreds of restaurant locations while maintaining community-level engagement is not easy for large franchise groups, but Scooter’s executives believe Boddie-Noell has successfully achieved that balance.

The two companies reportedly spent years discussing a potential partnership before finalizing the agreement. During those conversations, Scooter’s focused heavily on operational alignment, trust and shared business values rather than simply unit growth.

The coffee franchise’s leadership emphasized the importance of integrity, humility, courage and relationship-building when evaluating franchise partners. Those cultural similarities ultimately helped move the agreement forward.

Boddie-Noell Returns to Diversification After Focusing on Hardee’s

Although Boddie-Noell is best known for its long-standing relationship with Hardee’s, the company has previously operated multiple restaurant concepts over the years. Its portfolio once included brands such as Texas Steakhouse & Saloon, Moe’s Southwest Grill and barbecue restaurant concepts.

During the economic slowdown of the early 2000s, the company shifted its attention back toward strengthening its Hardee’s operations. However, over the past several years, leadership began searching once again for a complementary restaurant concept that aligned with its operational strengths.

After evaluating numerous franchise opportunities across quick-service food and beverage categories, Boddie-Noell identified Scooter’s Coffee as the right strategic fit.

The company believes Scooter’s complements its existing restaurant operations well. In fact, one of the first planned Scooter’s Coffee locations may be developed on property already owned near an existing Hardee’s restaurant.

Coffee Franchise Sector Continues Attracting Multi-Unit Operators

The partnership highlights the growing demand for drive-thru coffee franchise opportunities among experienced restaurant operators. Consumer demand for convenience-focused beverage concepts continues rising, especially in suburban and secondary markets where drive-thru accessibility and speed are major advantages.

For Boddie-Noell Enterprises, the Scooter’s Coffee agreement represents more than expansion. It signals a long-term strategic move into one of franchising’s fastest-growing categories while maintaining the community-first operating style that helped build its Hardee’s empire over the last six decades.