It depends. For coffee shops to be profitable you need a solid food program and volume to be profitable. It sounds like you have volume if by busy commuter road the numbers are something like 80,000 cars per hour drive by. If that’s the case having a drive through is huge but you also need to make sure your store layout gets people in and out the door quickly. . If you’re planning on 300k for buildout, equipment, opening needs, and the first six months expenses, I think that would really be stretching it. Can you afford to not get paid during that time or only make minimum wage until you start making money? People think that coffee shops can be great businesses but for most it’s buying yourself a job and it can take a while to make profitable if you’re new to a business like this. They sound easy but have a significant learning curve. If your supplier is confident it will work(not knowing the context of the relationship whether personal or professional) then he’s probably going to sell a lot of coffee. I think your biggest concern should be in your initial forecasting and track your financials daily for the first three weeks or until business levels out. If your first day of business isn’t half of your target, consider serious changes and implement any feedback you get immediately for the first day or two, especially common sense stuff. Hopefully your supplier can help you with some of these issues if they arise and foresee them.

At the end of the day, any amount that size is a significant risk, but as long as you do your homework and industry people are loving it, then it sounds like it has potential.

I spent ten years in the specialty coffee industry and opened 30+ custom coffee shops/business dining locations across the East Coast. If you have any questions feel free to dm me. Coffee is a passion too. Good luck!