Jo To Go isn't ready to become Jo To Stay, but you will be able to set a spell.


The Green Bay-based company's newest store, under construction on Main Street at its intersection with East Mason Street, will have indoor seating for 24 people as well as the traditional double drive-thru format.


"Even if you have a drive-thru window, they still pull up in front and walk up to the counter and order. We are betting we can capture those types of individuals," said Jonathan Lukens, vice president of franchising.


Founded in 1998, Jo To Go has focused on small drive-thru coffee shops in strategic traffic-heavy locations. The company has franchised Jo To Go in Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan and Wisconsin. Lukens said coffee-to-go will remain the company's focus. It makes up 85 percent of its business.


"We are not going to have leather couches and fireplaces and replication of your family room in the coffee shop," he said. "The inside décor will be like your favorite English or Irish pub. Along the lines of our brand, it will be simple, approachable, convenient."


The standard free-standing drive-thrus take up about 500 square feet. The new stores will range from 1,000 to 1,800 square feet. The Main Street store will be 1,400 square feet, with another 2,200 square feet for a complementary business.


"This will be a showcase store for us," Lukens said. "We pull in interested franchise groups from across the country. It will be part of our tour."


For franchisees, Lukens said, build-out of the new model in a lease situation will cost about the same as building the smaller free-standing store.


Jo To Go founder Dick DuBois and Lukens own the building at 1960 Main St., which they are leasing to the company. The store is expected to open around March 15.
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