Starbucks Debuts Its First 3D-Printed Drive-Thru Store in Texas

Starbucks is brewing up something new in Texas — a drive-thru store built using 3D printing technology, the first of its kind in the U.S.

The innovative store just opened in Brownsville, a city along the U.S.-Mexico border with a population of about 190,000. What sets this location apart? A robotic arm layered concrete to build the store’s structure — a process that gives the building its unique ridged, tube-like walls.

While it looks like a typical Starbucks at first glance, this compact, rectangular location is part of a broader experiment in cutting-edge construction methods. Starbucks hasn’t revealed if more 3D-printed stores are coming, nor why it selected Brownsville for the debut. But it does mark the coffee giant’s first leap into this futuristic construction approach on U.S. soil.

Traditionally, 3D printing in construction has been more common in residential projects, especially as a possible solution to affordable housing shortages. Starbucks is now one of the first major retailers in the U.S. to bring the tech into the commercial space.

“It’s early days yet,” said James Rose, director of the Institute for Smart Structures at the University of Tennessee. “I’m happy to see people doing all of these different things with it… Right now, I think you’re going to see lots of experimentation, and I think that’s a good thing.”

The store sits along a busy road where locals like Faviola Maldonado took notice during construction.

“It was just different,” said Maldonado, who used to run a nearby jewelry store. “It was super high technology.”

Starbucks confirmed the structure is its first 3D-printed store in the U.S., but declined to provide further comment.

Construction experts are calling the project a sign of what’s to come.

“This is leading edge,” said Andrew McCoy of Virginia Tech’s Myers-Lawson School of Construction.

McCoy noted that 3D-printed buildings still tend to cost more than traditional ones — but the benefits include faster build times and reduced dependence on manual labor, which could make it a smart long-term investment.

“The technology is getting faster, smaller… it’s getting easier to use,” McCoy added.