Mocha, chai, Tsunami? One of PNW’s oldest coffee drive-thrus adds another Tacoma stand
Cafe Elite, a visible local chain of drive-thru coffee shops, has opened a new location at 7214 Bridgeport Way West in Tacoma.
The stand is across the street from Walmart and just a zip away from Meadow Park Golf Course, just north of Lakewood and east of University Place.
Cafe Elite is a Pierce County-based, family-owned company with 22 locations, most in Western Washington.
Terry Myers introduced his first shop in 1991, making it one of the oldest drive-thru names in a region awash in them. (Motor Moka in Portland, since closed, is believed to have been the first not just in the Pacific Northwest but the country.)
Myers has grown the business alongside his wife, Kelly, and their son, Ryan, according to the company’s website.
Like all white-with-black-trim Cafe Elite stands, the new one on Bridgeport Way features Endicott Coffee Roasters and Tsunami Energy Drink, both based in Tacoma. The menu offers the usual hot and cold espresso drinks, from lattes to caramel macchiatos and dirty chais, as well as drip coffee and hot chocolate (most start around $3.50 for a small). There’s also cold brew, Italian sodas, lemonades, frappes, fruit smoothies and even espresso milkshakes. Customize your drink with Torani syrups a-plenty.
Snacks range from breakfast sandwiches on bagels to breakfast burritos (heated to order), various cookies, scones, muffins and a cup of doughnut holes.
CAFE ELITE - BRIDGEPORT
▪ 7412 Bridgeport Way West, Tacoma, cafeelite.com
▪ Monday-Friday 5 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 6 a.m.-8 p.m.
This story was originally published August 22, 2024 at 5:00 AM.