Invest in the Harbor | Drive-Thru Coffee
This Is Where Coffee Is Needed.
120,460 consumers within a 15-minute drive. A 5-minute trade area where 92.8 percent of adults use fast food or drive-in restaurants and coffee purchasing runs 8 percent above the national rate. Zero specialty drive-thru coffee anywhere in the market. Sheridan Road carries Illinois and Wisconsin traffic through Winthrop Harbor and funnels 800,000 visitors a year into North Point Marina, the largest freshwater marina in the United States. Sites are available the length of the corridor. Nobody has claimed this yet.
Trade Area by Drive Time
5 Minutes
- Population 2025
- 11,989
- Population 2030
- 11,926
- Adults 18 and over
- 9,562
- Households 2025
- 4,664
- Households 2030
- 4,739
- Families
- 3,202
- Median age
- 42.2, rising to 43.3
- Median household income 2025
- $86,333
- Median household income 2030
- $103,395
- Median home value
- $241,333
- Owner-occupied households
- 75.2 percent
10 Minutes
- Population 2025
- 52,138
- Population 2030
- 51,793
- Adults 18 and over
- 40,549
- Households 2025
- 19,420
- Households 2030
- 19,665
- Families
- 13,342
- Median age
- 39.1, rising to 40.1
- Median household income 2025
- $79,356
- Median household income 2030
- $90,057
15 Minutes
- Population 2025
- 120,460
- Population 2030
- 119,392
- Adults 18 and over
- 94,227
- Households 2025
- 46,637
- Households 2030
- 47,160
- Families
- 30,519
- Median age
- 39.0, rising to 40.1
- Median household income 2025
- $80,641
- Median household income 2030
- $92,196
The income story is in the innermost ring. The 5-minute trade area is the wealthiest of the three and is projected to grow median household income by 19.8 percent between 2025 and 2030, from $86,333 to $103,395. That is the ring a drive-thru actually serves.
Coffee and Drive-Thru Behavior
Bought brewed coffee at a convenience store in the last 30 days
| Ring | Adults | Share | MPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | 1,295 | 13.5% | 108 |
| 10 min | 5,171 | 12.8% | 102 |
| 15 min | 12,112 | 12.8% | 102 |
Went to a fast food or drive-in restaurant in the last 6 months
| Ring | Adults | Share | MPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | 8,872 | 92.8% | 102 |
| 10 min | 37,449 | 92.3% | 101 |
| 15 min | 87,014 | 92.3% | 101 |
Ordered take-out, drive-thru, or curbside in the last 6 months
| Ring | Adults | Share | MPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | 4,995 | 52.2% | 107 |
| 10 min | 20,737 | 51.1% | 105 |
| 15 min | 47,728 | 50.6% | 104 |
Went to fast food 9 or more times in the last 30 days
| Ring | Adults | Share | MPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | 3,883 | 40.6% | 102 |
| 10 min | 17,031 | 42.0% | 106 |
| 15 min | 39,529 | 42.0% | 106 |
Shopped at a convenience store in the last 6 months
| Ring | Adults | Share | MPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | 6,682 | 69.9% | 106 |
| 10 min | 27,915 | 68.8% | 104 |
| 15 min | 64,607 | 68.6% | 104 |
An MPI of 100 equals the national average. Every drive-thru and coffee metric in this trade area sits above 100, and the 5-minute ring indexes highest on both coffee purchasing and drive-thru use. The behavior is already established here. What is missing is somewhere to spend it.
Food and Beverage Spending
Food Services and Drinking Places, NAICS 722
| Ring | Per Household | Total | SPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | $4,657.26 | $21,721,446 | 99 |
| 10 min | $4,041.98 | $78,495,276 | 86 |
| 15 min | $4,110.75 | $191,713,135 | 88 |
Restaurants and Other Eating Places, NAICS 7225
| Ring | Per Household | Total | SPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | $4,518.64 | $21,074,928 | — |
| 10 min | $3,922.88 | $76,182,248 | — |
| 15 min | $3,989.88 | $186,075,979 | — |
Food Away from Home, 5-minute ring
- 2025 spending
- $19,025,747
- 2030 forecast
- $21,682,680
- Projected growth
- $2,656,933
Note the pattern. The 5-minute ring spends at a Spending Potential Index of 99, essentially the national average, while the 10- and 15-minute rings fall to 86 and 88. Households closest to the corridor are the strongest food-away-from-home spenders in the entire trade area, and they are spending $21.7 million a year with no specialty coffee operator competing for any of it.
Why Coffee Is Needed Here
The demand exists and leaves the market to get filled.
Retail demand figures measure what households in the trade area spend, not what they spend inside Winthrop Harbor. $21.7 million in annual food service spending sits in the 5-minute ring alone. The gap between that demand and what is captured locally is the entire opportunity.
Coffee behavior over-indexes in the tightest ring.
13.5 percent of adults within 5 minutes bought brewed coffee at a convenience store in the past month, at an MPI of 108. These are people buying coffee from a gas station because there is no alternative.
Drive-thru is the established format.
92.8 percent fast food penetration and a 107 MPI on take-out, drive-thru, and curbside within 5 minutes. The format does not need to be introduced to this market.
Income is rising fast in the core ring.
Median household income in the 5-minute ring goes from $86,333 to a projected $103,395 by 2030, a 19.8 percent increase. This market can support a premium ticket, not just a value one.
Sheridan Road delivers two separate traffic streams.
Weekday commuter volume moving between Illinois and Wisconsin supports the morning daypart year round. Seasonal recreational volume tied to North Point Marina and Illinois Beach State Park extends the afternoon daypart from spring through fall.
North Point Marina anchors 800,000 visitors annually.
The largest freshwater marina in the United States sits at the end of the corridor. That is destination traffic the operator does not have to buy.
The Village is a willing partner.
Winthrop Harbor is actively recruiting this use, with sites available along the full length of Sheridan Road within municipal boundaries rather than a single constrained parcel. The Village will work with the operator to match the site to the prototype.
Sites
Available locations exist along the length of Sheridan Road within Winthrop Harbor municipal boundaries, in a range of configurations including pad sites, outlots, and endcap positions. The Village will work with the operator to match the site to the prototype rather than the reverse.
Map: existing coffee brand locations in the Illinois-Wisconsin Lake Corridor trade area.
Contact Economic Development
Village of Winthrop Harbor — Economic Development
830 Sheridan Road, Winthrop Harbor, IL 60096 · www.investintheharbor.com
Connect with us on social media for updates on development opportunities in Winthrop Harbor
Source: Esri 2026 reports for Winthrop Harbor, IL, at 5, 10, and 15 drive-time minute radii, including Retail Market Potential, Retail Demand by Industry, Retail Goods and Services Expenditures, Retail Demand Outlook, and House and Home Expenditures. Consumer behavior data from MRI-Simmons. Spending data derived from the 2022 and 2023 Consumer Expenditure Surveys, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Esri forecasts for 2025 and 2030. Housing figures reflect the 2024 Esri vintage.
MPI, Market Potential Index, measures the likelihood that adults or households in the trade area exhibit a given behavior compared to the U.S. average of 100.
SPI, Spending Potential Index, is household-based and represents amount spent relative to a national average of 100.
Retail demand figures measure household spending, not local capture.