Pumpkin spice season started early this year, with Krispy Kreme and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Brews rolling out their drinks with flavors such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice on August 8. But many other chains followed suit, including Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii, Black Bear Coffee Bar, Black Bear Diner, Caribou Coffee, Chick-fil-A, Clean Juice, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Dutch Bros, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, Häagen-Dazs, Jack in the Box, Juice it Up!, La Madeleine, Nekter Juice Bar, Peet’s Coffee, Pilot Flying J, PJ’s Coffee, Potbelly, 7-Eleven, Shake Shack, Smoothie King, Snooze A.M. Eatery, Tim Hortons, Tous Les Jours, and Ziggi’s Coffee.
Oh, and Starbucks too.
But each of those chains developed its own variation on this very popular seasonal theme.
And other chains went in different directions. Chili’s Grill & Bar, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, Loro Asian Smokehouse & Bar, Smokey Bones, and Tiki Docks all took the time to launch new cocktails.
Blank Street Coffee introduced a latte sweetened with Mike’s Hot Honey.
Auntie Anne’s, Carvel Ice Cream, Cousins Subs, and Wayback Burger introduced shakes that weren’t related to autumn spices.
Frutta Bowls introduced new smoothies, Jamba rolled out boba, and Piada Italian Street Food started selling Intelligentsia coffee.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
