A few months ago I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jim L. Thompson, the franchisee for Dutch Bros. in Arizona. They currently have six locations in Arizona and Jim tells me they’re planning to open at least twenty over the next several years, with the next one planned for Tempe possibly in 2011. Phoenix, AZ – 4 W Camelback Rd Mesa, AZ – 1960 E McKellips Rd Tempe, AZ – 3213 S Mill Ave Scottsdale, AZ – 1422 N Scottsdale Rd Phoenix, AZ – 2961 E Bell Rd Tempe, AZ – 1037 S. Rural Rd I asked Jim how much of the coffee company’s culture he developed and how much is dictated from above (the Dutch Bros. franchise has 154 locations and is headquartered in Oregon). I wondered if the friendliness of the baristas was a local thing, or something they do company wide — it’s company wide. I wrote about this last year, in a post called The Dutch Brothers Secret. Jim L. Thompson, franchisee. Locally, they’re doing some interesting marketing. They have many thousands of customers signed up to receive coupons and special offers by email, text, and by social media. And they make liberal use of their punch cards that give customers their 11th drink free. I asked Jim how many customers go through the drive thru every day. We were at the Central / Camelback location and he said they sell 450 – 500 drinks a day on average. He said in the summer months 80% of the drinks they sell are iced / blended (he said that number flips in the winter time). Just an interesting factoid. I asked Jim if he has ever considered opening a coffee shop that has indoor seating and he hinted at possibly opening a Scottsdale store with both indoor and outdoor. It sounds like the drive-thru concept is where they are focusing, though. I have some video I took with Jim, and I’ll try to release it at a later date. They are quite active on Twitter at @DutchBrosAZ and Facebook, and often publish coupons. In fact, sometimes I think that’s all that they publish. I thought it was an interesting take on coffee in Arizona. Dutch Bros. clearly markets to a different customer than most of you readers here on Arizona Coffee. I think it’s just an interesting segment of the market and I’m guessing few of you knew just how well they were doing, or how much they plan to expand.
S.Bennighof We’re new to the area, West side, fresh from 30+ years in G.P. How about looking out here for a new spot? You’ll have a regular customer from Avondale!! 1 Reply February 23, 2011
Rich C. I started buying my iced coffees there and now I buy them for my entire office (4-5). Needless to say, my punch card goes fast! Thanks to the great staff at the Central and Camelback location (-: 0 Reply March 6, 2011
Nancy LeDuc HELP!!! We need a Dutch Brothers spot (or 20) in the Tucson area. I’m a snowbird and have serious withdrawals from late Oct. to April. We used to have stop gaps in Borders, but now that they have closed…that leaves Starbucks,which I shun here in Portland. 1 Reply September 15, 2011
June D Lopez Please consider a Tucson AZ location. I am having serious withdrawals. -2 Reply January 24, 2014
Melanie Hi ..this message is for Jim Thompson..its your friend Melanie from Desert Mountain ! I met you back in around 2001-03..hope your well! Email anytime to catch up! Cherrun35@hotmail.com -1 Reply December 10, 2014
Norma Tinder My family and I just moved to Tucson from Idaho we are so hooked on Dutch Bros we wish there was some in the Tucson area we would go almost daily if not every other day here. 2 Reply March 16, 2015
Bob Found about you when visited Portland last July. All I can say is ‘Wow’? Waiting for you to come to Tucson! 1 Reply May 28, 2015
Tonya I moved here from Washington State and so miss Dutch Bro’s. Please consider bringing one to Tucson. I miss it daily 1 Reply June 2, 2015
Lyne' I’m new to AZ just got here from Oregon, where Dutch Bros.are prolific! I need my Dutchie fix down here in Casa Grande! I have punch cards to fill up! 0 Reply December 15, 2015
