For many Americans, coffee is a crucial part of each and every day. It accompanies early commutes, fuels creativity, and gives structure to otherwise unstructured moments. And while some people prefer the taste of a fresh brewed pot of coffee at home, others venture out to their favorite coffee shop for their cup of joe.

We at Sudoku Bliss, like much of the country, love our coffee and rely on it from time to time to get us through our hectic days. This popularity comes at a cost, however, as coffee shops all across the country are frequently plagued by long lines that leave caffeine-deprived customers frustrated. In fact, many of our users get their daily fix of Sudoku or Killer Sudoku while waiting in line for coffee.

That’s why we set out to learn where in the country coffee lovers are waiting in line the longest. To do this, we collected Google reviews from more than 5,000 coffee shops in 40 major U.S. cities. We then analyzed reviews for mentions of keywords related to long waits and calculated a percentage of long-wait mentions. Finally, we ranked individual shops, cities, and coffee chains with the longest lines. Read on to learn where your cup will be filled up the quickest.

Key Takeaways

• Dutch Bros Coffee in Nashville, TN, has the longest lines in the U.S.
• Dunkin' in Wenonah, NJ, has the shortest lines in the U.S.
• Fort Worth, TX, and Memphis, TN, have the longest lines at coffee shops.
• Philadelphia, PA, and San Francisco, CA, have the shortest lines at coffee shops.
• Dutch Bros Coffee shops have the longest lines on average.

Coffee Shops with the Longest and Shortest Lines

On any given day a coffee shop can be completely empty during peak hours or have a line out the door at an unusual time. For some shops, it doesn’t matter how many people pile into the building, they seem to just zip through the orders with ease. For other coffee shops, however, long lines routinely prevent coffee lovers from getting their java as quickly as they’d like.

Overall, we found that the most common culprit of long lines can be attributed to Dutch Bros Coffee locations as the chain claims 7 of the top 10 spots for the longest lines at coffee shops. Leading the way with 69.23% of complaints mentioning long waits is the Dutch Bros Coffee in Nashville, TN, making it the number one coffee shop in the U.S. for long lines.

This is followed by a tie for second place among two Starbucks locations, one in Seattle, WA, the origin of the company, and the other in Las Vegas, NV. We found 66.67% of reviews for both locations include frustration with long lines.

Up next are four more Dutch Bros Coffee locations with one in Cibolo, TX, (62.50%) claiming fourth place, followed by another Texas location in Lancaster (60.00%) in fifth place. Coming in sixth place is a Dutch Bros Coffee in Indianapolis, IN, as 59.57% of reviews mention long lines.

On the other end of the spectrum, we found Dunkin’ to be the best pit stop for coffee if you want to avoid lengthy waits. Overall, Dunkin’ locations claimed 5 of the top 10 spots for shortest lines. Up first is Dunkin’ in Wenonah, NJ, with just 1.27% of reviews mentioning long lines.

This is followed by a Starbucks in Greenfield, WI, with a 1.72% mention of long lines. Coming in third place is another Dunkin’, this time in Chicago, IL, as just 1.82% of reviews complained about long waits. Rounding out the top 5 are two more Starbucks locations with the first in Arvada, CO, (1.85%) claiming fourth place. Another location in Seattle, WA, (1.92%) claims fifth place.

Cities Where Coffee Lovers Wait the Longest in Line

In addition to learning which individual locations have the longest lines on average, we also wanted to determine which cities are hot spots for quick service and which have the lengthiest wait times. Leading the way for the longest lines on average is Fort Worth, TX, with 19.02% of reviews across all locations including complaints about long wait times.

Up next are two Tennessee cities as Memphis ranks second with 19.00% of long line mentions, followed by Nashville with 18.73%. This brings us to the only California city to land on the longest line ranking—Fresno with a percentage of 18.35%. Following closely behind are three more Texas cities as San Antonio (17.78%), Austin (17.29%), and El Paso (17.22%), claim fifth, sixth, and seventh place, respectively.

When it comes to short wait times, Philadelphia, PA, reigns supreme with just 10.99% of reviews at coffee shops mentioning long lines. San Francisco, CA, (12.10%) is up next, claiming second place for the shortest lines. Wrapping up the top three best cities for coffee lovers in a hurry is New York, NY, with 12.14% of reviews mentioning lengthy waits.

To wrap up this study, we wanted to analyze results by coffee chain to determine which are best at keeping lines short and where to anticipate the longest waits. Up first, with nearly double the long-wait mentions compared to second place, is Dutch Bros Coffee as 26.88% of Google reviews for shops mention long waits.

Fans of the cafe shouldn’t fret, however, as the CEO, Christine Barone, announced last year that Dutch Bros Coffee is making a major change to improve customers’ experience. Through mobile ordering, coffee lovers now have the ability to place their order before arriving at a Dutch Bros Coffee location, limiting the amount of time they spend waiting for their drink.

Coming in second place is Starbucks as 15.45% of reviews complain about lengthy lines. This coffee giant’s CEO, Brian Niccol, has also announced updates to the company as they plan to open thousands of new stores. Starbucks is also planning to roll out new in-store technology including new espresso-brewing equipment and an A.I.-powered “virtual assistant” for baristas.

Coming in third place is Dunkin’ with 12.20% of reviews mentioning long lines, followed by Caribou Coffee (11.48%), Peet's Coffee (11.21%), and Tim Hortons (10.82%), ranking fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.

Kill the Wait Time with Sudoku

Long lines can be inevitable as Americans all throughout the country flock to coffee shops around the same time each day. While it can be frustrating, we at Sudoku Bliss encourage you to remain kind and respectful of baristas as they work to keep us all caffeinated.

Next time you find yourself stuck in a lengthy line to get your cup of joe, we recommend occupying your time with a game of Sudoku on your phone. Try your hand at an easy or medium puzzle as you gradually make your way to the counter to order. Or keep the challenge going at a table once you have your coffee in hand and try a puzzle at the expert or evil level.

Methodology

In this study, we set out to learn which coffee shops in the U.S. have the longest lines. To do this, we collected review data from more than 5,000 coffee shops across 40 major U.S. cities. We then analyzed reviews for mention of keywords related to long waits.

We then divided the number of reviews with 3 or fewer stars that mention a keyword by the number of reviews with 3 or fewer stars for each shop to calculate a percentage of long line mentions. We then used this percentage to rank coffee shops from the highest to lowest percentage of complaints.

Next, we averaged the percentages for all coffee shops in each city to create a local ranking. Finally, we followed those same steps to calculate the average percentage of long-line mentions by coffee shop chain across six major chains including: Dutch Bros Coffee, Starbucks, Dunkin', Caribou Coffee, Peet's Coffee, and Tim Hortons.