Texas iced tea franchise HTeaO brews plans for first drive-thru in Pinellas County
/HTeao’s sweet iced teas served at the lithia drive-thru location in fishhawk | hteao facebook image
Iced teas with bold fruity flavors from Sweet Georgia Peach to Mango Tango will be served at HTeaO's new planned Largo store.
Texas-founded franchise HTeaO, an indoor and drive-thru iced tea restaurant chain, plans to expand its Florida footprint with a new storefront at 3460 East Bay Drive.
HTeaO has over 100 drive-thru stores throughout the U.S., offering 26 flavors of unsweetened and sweetened tea, as well as iced coffees and chai lattes, which are available for purchase by the gallon.
A St. Louis-based civil engineer is requesting site plan approval from the City of Largo to construct a 1,900-square-foot HTeaO drive-thru restaurant on a 0.65-acre lot.
A hteao drive-thru location in texas | hteao facebook image
The parcel is commercial-zoned and sits across the street from a Publix Supermarket and adjacent to a Culver's fast-casual burger restaurant.
Details on the new drive-thru store will be shared during a Largo neighborhood information meeting on May 8th at 6 p.m.
Those interested in attending virtually can register here.
The information meetings are part of Largo’s development review process to provide project details to neighboring property owners.
hteao’s site plan for the Largo drive-trhu store | city of largo documents
The HTeaO concept was founded in 2009 by Gary and Kim Hutchens when Gary started selling his flavored iced teas in his burger restaurant, Buns Over Texas.
HTeaO has awarded over 120 U.S. franchise agreements since 2023.
"With all-natural ingredients, the brand has created its own supply chain to ensure each store receives all essential products and helps keep costs low," the company's website reads.
"Each store is equipped with its proprietary water plant, creating pure and consistent-tasting water."
The stores also feature a "secret menu" with fused teas creating tasty concoctions like Wedding Cake, a mixture of sweet almond green tea and sweet coconut tea, and Watermelon Refresher, a combination of sweet watermelon tea and sweet mint tea.
The indoor HTeaO locations have a self-serve tea station and retail items, such as YETI tumblers.
A tea with blueberries from hteao | hteao facebook image
The franchise plans to have 500 locations by the end of 2026.
The first Florida HTeaO location opened in southern Hillsborough County in Lithia's FishHawk community. A second Florida store opened in Lakeland in December 2022.
Additional stores are coming to Leesburg, Tallahassee, and Santa Rosa Beach in North Florida, according to the company's website.
Franchisee Bob Slaughter is leading HTeaO's growth strategy and operations in Florida and the East Coast.
The existing Florida stores are open from 7 a.m. to 8:05 p.m. on Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8:05 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 8:05 p.m. on Sunday.
