Less than three weeks after closing its first location, an Ocala coffee business has shuttered its remaining drive-thru, effectively ending the brand’s presence in the city just 18 months after it began.
OLA Coffee Drive-Thru has officially closed at 3233 SE Maricamp Road. The business appears to have ceased operations entirely and terminated all of its employees, who said they were notified abruptly of their terminations.
While Ocala-News.com has confirmed that staff members were let go from the location, specific allegations regarding the nature of the dismissals, internal management issues, and former employee experiences that have circulated on social media platforms remain unconfirmed.
The shutdown of the second location follows the December 5 closure of OLA’s original site at 920 N Pine Avenue.
At the time of that closure, the company issued a brief statement thanking the community for support and indicated that the Maricamp Road location would remain open for regular operations.
That reprieve, however, lasted only a few weeks.
Both locations were registered to Delbrew Operations, LLC, a company owned by James Maxwell. Corporate records indicate that Corey Scott was previously listed as a co-owner before being removed from the listing last year.
OLA Drive-Thru Coffee first entered the Ocala market in June 2023 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its Pine Avenue store. Just a few months later, OLA opened its second location in the city along Maricamp Road. The brand specialized in espresso-based beverages, smoothies, and signature energy drinks like the “Pipeline” and “Bandita.”
The closing of OLA in Ocala, which followed similar closures by Brown Dog Coffeehouse and one of Soleil‘s two locations this year, might have been spurred by the increasingly competitive nature of the drive-thru coffee market in Marion County.
In fact, since OLA’s debut just over two years ago, the local landscape has shifted significantly with the arrival of aggressive national and regional competitors.
That includes Ellianos Coffee, which has already opened two locations in Ocala since 2024. The franchisee who opened the first Ellianos in Marion County in Belleview in 2024 also recently announced that they are building a third location in Ocala.
Starbucks has also continued its expansion throughout Marion County over the past two years, having opened new drive-thru locations in northwest Ocala, northeast Ocala, and Belleview.
Competition in the coffee space is set set to stiffen further in 2026, as Oregon-based giant Dutch Bros. Coffee is currently developing a new location along East Silver Springs Boulevard.
Meanwhile, other brands like Georgia-based Red Owl Coffee Company have announced plans to enter the market, and Walla Coffee Co. remains in the planning stages for a site on State Road 200.
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