This Rochester Caribou Coffee Location Is Now Gone

Minnesota's third-largest city now has one less location to grab a cup of Caribou Coffee.

Rochester loses one of its 12 Caribou Coffee locations

It's not exactly a surprise that we love our coffee here in Rochester and across the Land of 10,000 Lakes. According to this IBIS World report, the number of coffee shops operating in the United States in 2024 was a staggering 72,854, which is an increase of 3.3 percent from 2022.

Our coffee craze here in the US has been going on for a while now, too. According to this story from Eat This, Not That! Americans have been getting a cup of java for well over 50 years now, noting that the 'first major coffee chain in America, Peet's Coffee, popped up in Berkeley, California, in 1966. More chains followed, and by the 1980s, coffeehouse culture exploded. Momentum hasn't let up since,' the story said.

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And while they may individually be small, cozy places, the value of those coffee shops is big business. According to the Daily Coffee News, the United States coffee shop market grew 8 percent to $49.5 billion over the past year, a 4 percent increase in the market’s pre-pandemic value.

So while that's a lot of places to grab a cup of java, we now have one less Caribou Coffee location here in Minnesota's Med City. Caribou was founded here in Minnesota back in 1992, and has been included on a list of the 15 Best Coffee Chains in America from Eat This, Not That!  As recently as last month, it boasted a dozen Rochester locations.

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The Caribou Coffee location at this Rochester Hy-Vee is now gone

But now, the Caribou Coffee location inside Hy-Vee #3/Barlow Plaza, at 1315 6th St NW in Rochester, is not only closed-- it's completely gone. Here's what the area where the familiar Caribou kiosk used to be as of Saturday morning, April 18th, 2026:

And, a glance at the Caribou Coffee website now lists just Rochester 11 locations, with the Hy-Vee Barlow Plaza location now missing from the list, as well. This Post-Bulletin story reported that Caribou Coffee opened its location inside Hy-Vee Barlow Plaza in 2008 as part of a $5 million renovation of the grocery store.

Rochester still has 11 Caribou Coffee locations after closure

The good news is, if you're looking to grab a cup of joe from Caribou Coffee, you don't have to look too far. There are still 11 other Rochester locations currently operating:

1. Downtown/Subway Level - 101 First Ave SW
2. Kahler Inn - Street Level in hotel - 9 Third Ave NW
3. Southgate - 1021 15th Ave SE
4. River Center Plaza - 1593 North Broadway Ave
5. Civic Center Drive - 451 16th Ave NW
6. Shoppes On Broadway (near Fairgrounds) - 1620 Broadway Ave S
7. Apache Mall - 1200 12th St NW
8. County Road 22 & Viola - 2190 Wheelock Dr NE
9. West Circle Drive (near Costco) - 1930 36th Av NW
10. 41st St & Highway 52 - 3938 Marketplace Dr NW
11. Maine Ave (near Target South & Lowe's) - 4662 Maine Ave SE

And seeing as many of us can't get our mornings started without a cup of coffee, keep scrolling to see how many varieties of another morning staple-- cereal-- you remember as well.