Lola Beans Signs Deal to Grow Into Delaware in Family Affair

For Lola Beans founder Donny Bradley, the latest franchise deal is a little more personal than most.

The growing drive-thru beverage brand has signed a six-unit franchise agreement to expand into Delaware with Donny’s brother, Jay Bradley, and his wife, Beth. The deal brings Lola Beans back to a place that already means something to the Bradley family. Donny and Jay grew up in Dover, Delaware, while their father was stationed at Dover Air Force Base, and Jay has continued to call Delaware home.

Beth was born and raised in Delaware. Eight years ago, Jay & Beth moved 5 miles north, right over the line from the Delaware border to Southern Chester County, PA. Being a stone’s throw away from the DE/PA, we will always call Delaware home.

It also marks a new chapter for two brothers who have watched each other build careers, families and now, businesses. Both found careers in the medical industry, with Donny previously working in medical device sales and Jay currently serving as a National Trainer for a spine biologics company.

For Jay, bringing Lola Beans to Delaware is an opportunity to build something meaningful alongside his wife in a community they already know and love. Together, they plan to grow the concept throughout the state, bringing the same sense of connection, energy and community they have watched Donny and Missy build in Tennessee.

“I’ve had a front-row seat to Lola Beans from the beginning, and I’ve watched Donny and Missy build something that is genuinely different,” said Jay Bradley. “It’s fun, it’s positive and it’s centered around making people’s day better. My wife and I are excited to bring that same energy to Delaware and build something our family can be proud of here.” “Watching Donny & Missy’s journey in Lola Beans inspired us….we have always wished we lived closer to them, so starting this new chapter gives us a little bit of our Chattanooga Family right here in Delaware/Pennsylvania.”

“There’s something really special about your own family believing in what you’ve built enough to want to become part of it,” said Donny Bradley, co-founder of Lola Beans. “Jay has seen Lola Beans from the very beginning. He knows the hard work and everything that has gone into building it. For him and his family to say, ‘We want to bring this to Delaware,’ means a lot to Missy and me.”

Donny’s career in medical device sales ultimately played an unexpected role in the Lola Beans story. In 2014, his work took him, Missy and their family to Soldotna, Alaska, where they became regulars at the area’s small drive-thru coffee huts. What stuck with them was the genuine connection and the way a quick interaction could turn around someone’s day. That experience eventually became the inspiration for Lola Beans.

Donny and Missy opened the first Lola Beans in Chattanooga in 2020, followed by a second company-owned location in Cleveland, Tennessee. Today, they continue to invest in the concept themselves, with additional corporate growth planned in Tennessee alongside the brand’s franchise expansion.

The Delaware agreement marks the latest step in that growth, bringing Lola Beans back to where the Bradley brothers’ story began while carrying the brand’s focus on good energy, genuine connection and community into a new state.