Octane Coffee in Brookfield offers a fully automated coffee experience, with robots serving drinks and plans for expansion.
BROOKFIELD, Wis. —Fully automated Octane Coffee opened its second location in Brookfield last week and has plans to break ground at a third location in Hales Corners by the end of the year.
Robots handle every order, from espresso to energy drinks, in a fully automated setup. The idea was brewed in Octane founder Adrian Deasy's Waukesha home in 2018. Deasy said he dreamt up the idea after seeing long lines at a Starbucks kiosk.
"I was surprised no one had yet automated that process," the company's website reads.
Customers place their orders on the Octane Coffee app before arriving at the café, receive a QR code, and scan it at the window to receive their coffee. The app uses GPS to track the customer's location, to start making the coffee at the optimal time for pickup. Ideally, Deasy said, this eliminates lines.
Without bar staff, Octane aims to be cheaper than other cafes.
"We try to be 10 to 15% cheaper than a typical Starbucks," Deasy said.
During Octane's formative years, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The subsequent shutdowns, a death-knell for many businesses, helped launch Octane's contactless success.
"We were going to drag people kicking and screaming into our vision of this fully automated future. But all of a sudden, welcome to COVID. It really celebrated all that technology," Deasy said.
Deasy, with just one or two engineers at the start, opened Octane's first location in Pewaukee in 2023.
"That was one of the scariest moments of my life. Going from a back bedroom idea, to some borrowed shop space, to a large 2000-square-foot shop, which, for me, for one person, is plenty," he said.
Octane Brookfield opened last week, and plans are already percolating for another location in Hales Corners. Deasy doesn't have a definitive opening date yet for the new location, but said digging will start this year.
For Deasy, the focus is on supporting the local economy. The shop uses Stone Creek Coffee, and milk from Marigold farms. Deasy said all of the 12 engineers he now employs are from Wisconsin.
"It's that vision. I've been chasing it for seven years," Deasy said. "It's one of the highest callings about entrepreneurs. It's not about you. It's about what you can build and create."
Currently, Octane Coffee's hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with hopes to expand to 24/7 in the coming weeks, as robots don't need to sleep.