When you think of Dutch Bros Coffee, the first thing that comes to mind is their coffee and sugary specialty drinks, along with their extremely friendly service. However, if you've ever pulled into a Dutch Bros drive-through on an empty stomach, you may also wonder, “Does Dutch Bros have food?”
While Dutch Bros Coffee does have a few food items on their menu, the selection is much smaller than other coffee chains like Starbucks or Tim Hortons. The only food items offered on most Dutch Bros menu are chocolate chip, lemon poppyseed, and orange cranberry muffin tops, as well as granola bars.
In this article, I’ll quickly cover what Dutch Bros is and why their coffee shops are so unique, and then we'll cover what food items Dutch Bros sells and how their food compares to other popular coffee shops. Let's get started!
Dutch Bros Food Menu Compared to Other Coffee Shops
The Dutch Bros Story
In 1992 two Oregonian brothers, Dane and Travis Boersma, who had been working for their family’s failing dairy business for years, decided to leave the cow manure behind and start selling coffee instead.
Originally, the two just sold their coffee around town from a pushcart with an espresso machine on it. But by 2018 they had over 300 coffee stands in more than 7 states around the U.S., most of them being drive-throughs.
Today, Dutch Bros Coffee is the biggest privately held drive-through the coffee chain in the world. With most of its locations in the western United States (Wikipedia).
The company is highly selective in who they allow to be franchisees. A few of the requirements to open up a Dutch Bros Coffee Shop are that you must have spent at least 3 years working for the company and are “an outgoing optimist committed to customer service.” “It's our Dutch Bros. way of life,” Dutch Bros franchise Kristen Von Tersch says, “practicing love and humility.”
Dutch Bros baristas, known as “bro-istas,” focus on the customer experience by memorizing cutomer's orders, developing personal relationships with their customers, and giving out free drinks to customers who are going through rough times. (Forbes)
Any franchisee who doesn’t live up to these high standards that Dutch Bros has for them is bought out by the company.
Dutch Bros focus on company culture and high expectations for their franchisees has paid off as the company brings in close to a $100 million a year in revenue and has won countless awards, including making the Forbes 2016 list of Best Franchises in America and 2017 list of America's best small companies.
Ok, now you know a little about Dutch Bros, their unique culture, and that they sell coffee. But does Dutch Bros also sell food?
Does Dutch Bros Sell Food?
The name of the company is Dutch Bros. Coffee, so it would make sense why someone would wonder whether or not the chain sells food.
And while Dutch Bros does sell a few snack-like foods, their food selection is nowhere near as large as their coffee shop competitors such as Starbucks, Bigby, or Tim Hortons. The only food options currently on Dutch Bros menu are Chocolate Chip, Lemon Poppyseed, and Orange Cranberry Muffin Tops, and Granola Bars.
Some locations also sell what they call “Grab-N-Go” snacks, which include frosted vanilla cookies, donut holes, and nut mix. You can find participating Dutch Bros “Grab-N-Go” locations on their website here.
So unfortunately, if you’re looking for a wide selection of food or a large, nutritious meal to fill you up at lunchtime, you’re going to have to go somewhere else. Since Dutch Bros food is more of a snack to enjoy with your drink than a meal to sit down and eat.
I would guess that a big reason why Dutch Bros doesn’t have much of a food selection is because most of their locations are very small drive-throughs that don’t have the space for the equipment needed to make and store food.
But even after considering the small size of Dutch Bros shops it’s still surprising to me that they don't put more effort into their food options, since most of their coffee competitors have a decent selection of food and much more nutrient-rich, meal-like options.
To help give you an idea of how Dutch Bros food choices compare to other popular coffee chains I created the table below comparing all the food options offered on the menus of Starbucks, Biggby, Tim Hortons, and Dutch Bros. I hope it’s helpful!
A Comparison of Food Options Offered By Popular Coffee Chains
As you can see in the table, Starbucks and Tim Hortons have the most food options of the 4 chains, with each offering 8 and 9 food items on their menu, respectively. Dutch Bros comes in dead last with only 2 food offerings on their menu that are both more quick snacks than actual meals.
Final Thoughts
While Dutch Bros does technically sell food, their only options are muffin tops and a granola bar.
It seems that the company is much more focused on being a coffee shop than a restaurant. Which has and continues to work for them. Just know that if you’re hungry and need more than a sugary snack to fill you up, Dutch Bros isn't the place to go.
If you've tried Dutch Bros food and have some thoughts on it, let us know below!
And, if you’d like to learn more about coffee shops, espresso, and anything else coffee, be sure to check out the rest of my website! Have a great day!
This article was written by Josh. You can learn more about Josh on our About the Team page.
