You might call it a highly-caffeinated market grab.
Dutch Bros. Coffee is taking on Starbucks in a big way in the Rio Grande Valley, with plans to open new locations in Harlingen, McAllen and Mission.
The vast majority of Dutch Bros. stores are drive-thru stands, selling coffee and other drinks, both cold and hot, as well as a selection of baked goods. The new Rio Grande locations will be the same.
“We’re excited to be looking at opening a location in Harlingen,” wrote Rilynn Davis, regional PR lead for Dutch Bros, via email. “We’re still in the very early stages but hope to start construction soon and open late next year.”
The café in Harlingen will be located at 1601 W. Harrison Ave.
On the Dutch Bros. website, it says a location will be “opening soon” in McAllen at 3500 W. Nolana Ave.
Another location also is on the table for Mission, at 512 N. Shary Road.
“We do have a shop under construction at 3500 West Nolana Avenue, and we’re hoping to open by the end of the year,” Davis said. “We’re still in the planning stages at 512 North Shary Road in Mission but are looking to open early next year.”
Dutch Bros. Coffee, which went public with an IPO last year, has an interesting backstory.
The company was founded in 1992 by brothers Dane and Travis Boersma in Grants Pass, Oregon. The family dairy farm was struggling due to changes in environmental regulations, so the brothers bought an espresso machine for $12,000 and started selling coffee from a pushcart on downtown streets in their hometown.
One cart became many, and the company now operates almost 600 mostly drive-thru locations. Company execs say they anticipate total revenues this year of between $700 million and $715 million.
With more than 6,400 locations, Dunkin’ is the largest drive-thru coffee shop operator in the United States, followed by Starbucks with around 4,000 locations.
