Jitterz Espresso Begins Construction on New Athol Drive-Through Location

Jitterz Espresso is coming to Athol, with crews breaking ground earlier this week at the corner of East Howard and Athol Crossing Road, near Dollar Tree and Grease Monkey/Monkey Shine Car Wash. The new drive-through is the latest move in a years-long push by the locally owned chain to expand its footprint across North Idaho.

Jitterz will also open its drive-through soon at 1422 Northwest Blvd. The locally owned company opened its first location in 2006 and now has 14 in North Idaho and two event trailers. More are planned for Smelterville, Spirit Lake, Athol and Post Falls.

The Athol project has been years in the making. Jitterz Espresso owners Laura and Jason Quast have built the company from a single stand into an 11-location operation, with the Quasts described as literal students of coffee. In 2023, Laura Quast said the company already had its sights set on Athol: "We have a property in Athol in front of Super 1 Foods we will be developing and plans to open in Spirit Lake in the Jifi Stop parking lot."

The Athol location lands in a commercial corridor that is seeing rapid growth. New buildings for Idaho Guns & Outdoors and Hayden Sharp DDS are being built in the Athol Crossings complex east of U.S. 95, joining several other new places anchored by Super 1 Foods. The Jitterz site at East Howard and Athol Crossing Road puts the coffee stand directly alongside that emerging retail cluster.

Beyond coffee, Jitterz offers hand-crafted espresso drinks, energy drinks, smoothies, chais, a build-your-own bagel and burrito bar and breakfast items. Laura Quast has described the company as "literally a mom and pop stand that grew from opportunity over the years," adding that she and Jason work to ensure their more than 128 employees are "happy, heard, and taken care of."

No opening date has been announced for the Athol location. Jitterz currently lists 18 drive-through espresso stands across North Idaho, a figure that reflects how aggressively the Quasts have scaled since acquiring the original single stand two decades ago.