I didn’t not know until recently that Dutch Bros. was an Oregon company. Maybe it was the name that threw me or the many locations with their polished image but Dutch Bros was founded by brothers Travis and Dane Boersmain in 1992 in Grants Pass. The former dairy farmers started with a push cart and then moved up to kiosks. The Grants Pass-based roasters, brewers and servers doled out 17 million cups of coffee to Oregonians last year. In 2008, Dutch Bros. served more than 25 million cups of coffee. The company gives back 1 percent of gross sales to its communities, which last year totaled $750,000, to nonprofits such as the American Cancer Society and Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Dutch Bros. has, by my count, well over 100 locations in Oregon and stores in a total of seven states. Not bad in the era of Starbucks. Being possibly the largest privately-held drive-thru coffee shop, speed of service is not something that plagues this company. As the OregonLive writer put it,
Per the Dutch Bros. creed, he concentrates on speed, friendliness and making each customer happy.
Brown won’t comment on the attitude of the local barista-cracy. Let me: Crafting the Mona Lisa in latte foam is nice. But when was the last time you got a smile from someone at Stumptown?
So in case you were like me and didn’t know they were a home-grown Oregon company and may have passed them up for someone else, you can let your Oregon bias relax and enjoy a cup on the way to work.
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