Ready Coffee is looking to open up a new coffee shop in Newburgh after a successful launch in Wappingers Falls last year, and co-founder Jed Bonnem joined architect Mike Berta of Lathrop Associates in White Plains to present their vision for expansion to the Town of Newburgh planning board.

The coffee shop was envisioned to be a coffee-to-go place with locally crafted cups of joe that served as a local competitor to the big two: Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks.

Since its launch in Wappingers, a traffic study found that Ready Coffee averages 80 visits per day during peak times on weekdays and Saturday mornings. Now, Bonnem wants the idea to expand to Newburgh, where if approved, Ready Coffee will be located between North Plank Road and Gardnertown Road amongst a slew of chain restaurants—including Dunkin Donuts. The site, originally an A & P Grocery Store was more recently the home of a Rite Aid Pharmacy.

The traffic and parking studies cited by the team were criticized by traffic consultant Kenneth Wersted, who stated that the participants in the studies were already visiting a nearby place when they decided to visit the Wappingers Ready Coffee.

“Most of them — nearly 75 percent — were already driving by somewhere,” he said. “So the majority of the traffic is already out on the road, driving past the site.”

“What we’re going to do is have a single story, drive-thru coffee shop and putting it in an area that is seldom used,” said Berta.

As for parking and accessibility, the drive-thru was noted to be a five-space driveway, which would be long enough for drivers to come through. The parking lot north and south of the property is set to be three lanes, with a few parking spaces on the west side.