Lauren Drewes Daniels
Audio By Carbonatix
Brothers Dane and Travis Boersma, founders of Dutch Bros. Coffee, were third-generation dairy farmers before dabbling in the coffee drive-thru business. According to their website, in 1992 they “bought a double-head espresso machine, cranked up the stereo, threw open the barn doors and started experimenting with 100 pounds of beans.”
The transition from smelling cow manure all day to coffee beans was appealing. So, they kept at it. The company headquarters are in Grants Pass, Oregon, and they’re now huffing and puffing southeasterly in an aggressive fashion.
Dutch Bros. is the country’s largest privately held drive-thru coffee shop. In 2020, they opened 63 new stores, according to BizJournals, for a total of 430. They employ 14,000 “broistas” (their term) and had revenues over $250 million in 2020.
Two locations are going up in North Texas, one in McKinney and another that just broke ground Pantego (that small town in Arlington where you got that ticket that one time). Overall, they plan 20 new locations in Texas this year, with 11 stores in North Texas and seven in the Austin area.
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Over next year stores will open in Euless, Arlington, Princeton, Fort Worth, Plano, Pantego, Garland, Richardson and Wylie.
A recent promotional coffee: an Iced White Chocolate Lavender Cold Brew with Dutch Bros cold brew, white chocolate sauce, lavender syrup and a marshmallow-like topping.
Photo Courtesy of Dutch Bros Coffee
Yelp! reviews praise their customer service, which sounds Chick-fil-A level. But, one review by Brittani S. (elite status) caught my eye. I could already relate without having ever tasted a drop of their coffee. She deducted one star for their exhaustive menu:
“… you basically have to know what you want prior to going. And to do that, you have to look online… “
To that end, I couldn’t find a price for just a coffee, or even what a coffee is called there. But, I could find that their “9-1-1” has six-shots of Irish breve. I don’t know what that means, but I feel like I might get my house, garage and yard cleaned in an hour. And hear color.
After further research, it looks like their basic coffee is called a “Kicker” and a small is $3.
Jesse Davis of Arlington wanders the globe in search of coffee house vibes. He’ll catch a flight just to try a new spot in a city across the country. Of course, he’s had Dutch Bros.
“Yes, I’ve tried their coffee when I was in Oregon several years ago. I’m more of a single-origin preference and no cream or sugar in my coffee,” says Davis, a purist at heart. “They will be good for those who enjoy milk and sweet in their coffees, but I prefer places like White Rhino, Inclusion, Grounds and Gold, Coffee Folk, Black Coffee and even Society Coffee that all serve locally roasted coffees and single origin coffees.”
He says his daughter will enjoy the one going up near their neighborhood, “in hopes they have a good iced caramel latte.” Kids, right?
The McKinney spot at 1401 N. Custer Road is opening “this spring” and they’re hiring.
