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Midmorning on a sunny July day, cars lined up on both sides of a new small gray building on the edge of Nome, backed by bright green summer tundra and distant hills.
Elizabeth Korenek-Johnson rolled up to the window at Golden Grounds Coffee Co., where sliding glass windows on both sides are framed by menus for syrups and drink options. In the shop’s first week, she was already a repeat customer.
"It's great," Korenek-Johnson said. "I love that you don't have to get out of the car, and you can see how busy they are before you get here."
Drive-thru coffee stands are common in Alaska’s cities, but until now, Nome was an exception. Golden Grounds Coffee Co. changed that when it opened earlier this month in a parking lot near the local Alaska Commercial Company.
It isn’t the only option for coffee and mixed drinks in Nome, but it's the only one were you don't have to get out of your car. Johnson said she isn’t a regular coffee shop customer, and this stop adds something new to her day.
"I don't get out for coffee much. It's a special treat when I do," Johnson said. "So I guess you'd say it adds. And it's just nice to have another option when I'm feeling super sluggish."
Recent Nome-Beltz graduate Benny Lie used to work as a barista at Aurora Coffee before it changed management last winter. Now she's a manager at Golden Grounds. She said the first few days were busier than expected.
"I was honestly a little surprised by all of it," Lie said. "I was expecting it to be busy, but not that busy. We went through so many cups, so many syrups, so many powders."
The shop's owner, Jessica Blandford, said she attributes part of the shop's early success to its novelty.
"It's something new and exciting," Blandford said. "I know Nome has had a drive-thru in the past, but it's been years, I feel like."
Blandford and her husband, Jesse Blandford, run a few other businesses, including JB Rentals and NAPA Auto Parts. The idea for another small business started with their 13-year-old daughter, Lexi.
“She was sitting in the office at NAPA with me, and she’s looking around, and she’s like, ‘I don’t want to work here, Mom.’ And I was like, ‘Me neither. I don’t want to either,’” Blandford said, laughing.
The couple bought the shed and the piece of land Golden Grounds sits on last summer. The shop sources its coffee from Kaladi Brothers in Anchorage, and Blandford said they try to keep purchases local.
Pastries and breakfast sandwiches come from a local baker—Lie's sister, Kastyn Lie. Depending on the day, she makes fresh bagel breakfast sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, sticky buns, cookies, doughnuts and more.
"A lot of people come in just to get those because they love them," Lie said.
“Yeah, we’ve had a bunch of customers come in and say, ‘Is Kastyn’s food here?’ and if not they will zip on through,” Blandford added, laughing. “Which is awesome for Kastyn, I love that for her.”
Back in line, Callen Troy Christensen pulled up in a white truck. It's his first time at the window, but he orders his usual coffee shop drink: a 16-ounce cappuccino with half-sweet almond syrup.
"It makes me feel right at home, and home is Fairbanks," Christensen said, adding that in Fairbanks, drive-thru coffee stands are everywhere. "Yeah, it's kind of ridiculous."
Christensen pulled out of the lot with his coffee in hand, and another car pulled up. Even in its first weeks, Golden Grounds already looked less like a one-time novelty and more like a regular stop, with a line at the window from morning into afternoon.
