AULT – A roughly half-acre site along Colorado Highway 14 in Ault is to become a Ziggi’s drive-through coffee location by mid- to late summer, the franchise’s owner says.

Fort Collins-based FR Companies LLC, owned by Andrew Rauch, purchased the property at 124 Oregon Trail in the Conestoga development for an undisclosed price from NC-FRP from 202001 LLC, according to SVN | Denver Commercial, the real estate firm that represented the seller.

“Fronting Highway 14 makes a lot of sense,” Rauch told BizWest on Monday. “It has great visibility along a major thoroughfare that connects Interstate 25 and U.S. 85, with good traffic flow.”

With the acquisition of the Ault property, Rauch said, his company now holds six Ziggi’s franchises. Its stores in Wellington and Eaton are open, and a property at 432 12th St. in Fort Collins is being renovated. The site of another Fort Collins location, at Timberline Road and International Boulevard, has worked its way through the city’s permitting process, Rauch said, and he expects construction to begin after the first of the year with completion by the fourth quarter. He also plans a Ziggi’s location in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Rauch has hired Denver-based Epic West Construction to build the Ziggi’s stores.

Brandon Knudsen, owner of the Mead-based Ziggi’s chain, said his company now has 64 stores open, with a 65th to open on Dec. 30 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Knudsen and his wife directly own eight Ziggi’s locations, and he has sold 208 franchise agreements, he said, adding that 58 of the franchised stores are open now and 160 are slated to be built.

Knudsen said 20 Ziggi’s locations have opened so far in 2022, and he expects 35 to 40 to open in 2023.