QSR May 2023

EMERGING BRANDS

sides, making sure everyone understood the gravity of the moment. Judging by the smiles, claps, yells, and cheers, it was clear they did. Dutch Bros was now a public company, marking one of the chain’s greatest achievements. CEO Joth Ricci, who stood behind Trav, recalls Wall Street as an “eye-opening” experience, and one that he couldn’t be more proud of. The celebration wasn’t restricted to top brass either. Dutch Bros brought about 100 team members to the New York Stock Exchange, many of whom had never been to

the Big Apple. It was an opportunity to not only share a special occasion with employees but to allow them to witness a differ ent side of the business. It was representative of a culture that hadn’t waned in three decades. “To be with Trav and his family and to celebrate the event with them, and to really have respect for the 30-year journey basically that the family had been on to get to this point and to have them see this brand that they started and that they cultivated and they loved, to be able to be put on really the national—if not the global—stage of going public was really great,” Ricci says. “And to watch Trav ring the bell was a moment in my career that I will never forget.” HUMBLE BEGINNINGS In 1992, 21-year-old Trav and his 38-year-old brother Dane were in different places in life. Dane was a father of three, while Trav was “footloose and fancy-free,” he says. They were third-generation dairy farmers in Oregon facing

DUTCH BROS ENDED 2022 WITH NEARLY 700 STORES.

DUTCH BROS (2)

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MAY 2023 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com