‘Gourmet’ coffee shop with breakfast, lunch items to replace shuttered Burger King in Cary

A gourmet coffee shop soon will be replacing the shuttered Burger King drive-through along Route 14 in Cary.

Cary Out Coffee Breakfast and Lunch, a drive-through and curbside business, will take over the Burger King at 62 Northwest Highway. The Burger King has sat empty for nearly eight years after it debuted as the country’s first drive-through only location in 2016.

Co-owner Tim Tath is opening the coffee shop with his sister, May Chen, who has multiple coffee shops in California. The siblings were looking in the Chicago area to open a gourmet coffee shop when they came across the vacant Burger King in Cary, he said.

Tath describes the menu as gourmet coffee served conveniently and “good food made with good ingredients.” The menu includes lattes, teas and coffees with various milk and flavor options, smoothies, frappes and other iced caffeinated drinks. Breakfast and lunch food choices feature bagels, avocado toast, burritos, pastries, smash burgers, sandwiches and wraps, according to village documents.

There will be no dine-in seating.

To update the existing building, Cary Out Coffee will be getting financial assistance from the village through its facade improvement and interior build out grant. Village officials unanimously approved a $10,000 grant for exterior signs and lightning improvements during Tuesday’s village board meeting.

The total cost of improvements is estimated to be nearly $64,000, documents show.

“I think the branding looks great, and the menu looks great,” Trustee David Prusina said. “Hopefully they’re going to execute it at a high level.”

Owners are expected to work on improvements this spring with hopes to open “within the next few months,” Community Development Director Brian Simmons said.

Recently, the board also approved facade improvement grants to new downtown restaurants Leo’s 121 and Cynthia Ann’s Wine and Whiskey, the Cary Street Apartments and All Marine Motorsports, according to village documents.