Dutch Bros Coffee officially opened its first Northeast Florida store Aug. 9. It’s the latest store to show “Dutch Luv” but far from the last, the Oregon-based company says.
The 950-square-foot store is at 50 McCoy Way in St. Augustine, about a half-mile north of a Publix at the Shoppes at Palencia Commons. It’s also about a half-mile east of another drive-thru coffee concept, Lake City-based Ellianos Coffee.
It is one of seven sites the company has identified in the region.
The location at 5733 Roosevelt Blvd. in West Jacksonville is hiring and scheduled to open in September. The store at 7720 Argyle Forest Blvd. in Southwest Jacksonville is expected to open in early November.
J.J. Herzog, the regional business coach for Dutch Bros locations in Florida, Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky, has been with Dutch Bros since its founding in 1992. He said Florida completes the coffee chain’s goal to stretch across the country.
“We were always targeting going coast to coast, and Florida is obviously last. It’s a great place. Our shops in Orlando are some of the busiest in the company. They’re doing really well,” he said.
There are two locations in the Orlando area, and that number could grow to as many as 12, Herzog said. Two nearby locations operate in Clermont and Davenport, with others planned in Daytona Beach, Gainesville, Kissimmee and Pensacola.
“Now we’re going to work our way up north,” Herzog said.
Dutch Bros’ northernmost store is in Lexington, Kentucky.
Ronnie Manley, local operator of the St. Augustine store, drove cross-country from Oregon with his wife and children to open the shop.
Herzog said local operators are chosen by lottery. Company employees can enter the lottery, and when a store is announced, a name is chosen. That employee is then free to say yes or no to the opportunity.
Manley went for it.
“It wasn’t something I had my heart set on. I never knew I was going to do this. I was thinking Kentucky or maybe Tennessee,” he said. “But the more I learn about Florida, the more I love it.
“I never thought it was even going to be an option.”
Following the Dutch Bros template, the St. Augustine location has a double drive-thru, a walk-up service window, parking and a trash enclosure. There is no indoor or outdoor seating.
Dutch Bros offers coffee, drinks and a limited menu of pastries with no on-site cooking. It offers cold brew, chai, hot coffee, energy drinks, teas, lemonades, smoothies and its signature Dutch sodas. The food menu includes granola bars and muffin tops.
Manley said the Golden Eagle, a drink with bold espresso, half-and-half, vanilla syrup and caramel sauce, topped with whipped cream and a caramel sauce drizzle, is “No. 1 across the board.” It can be served hot or cold.
“There’s no way to not like it,” he said. “Everyone goes for it.”
Other popular drinks include The Kicker, which is Irish cream-based, and The Annihilator, which is served with chocolate macadamia nut syrup.
Dutch Bros is headquartered in Grants Pass, Oregon.
The name is pronounced “Bros” not “brothers.”
The company expects to open at least 150 to 165 new shops in 2024. According to data company Scrape Hero, it had 912 locations in the United States as of Jan. 30.
The company reported revenue of $965.8 million for 2023, up from $739 million in 2022 and $497.9 million in 2021.
Brothers Dane and Travis Boersma founded Dutch Bros. Dutch Bros Inc. was formed June 4, 2021, to become a public company. It is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.