Dutch Bros' journey from a pushcart in Grants Pass stopped at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, when the the company's stock rose roughly 65% in the first of hours of the coffee chain's life as a public company.
"You're realizing the American dream, what the New York Stock Exchange means for anyone who's started a company from scratch," said CEO Joth Ricci, speaking from the NYSE.
Founder Travis Boersma was at the exchange with about 30 family members to watch him ring the bell in a Rage Against the Machine T-shirt, sunglasses and a backward ball cap, the standard attire of the entrepreneur who built his drive-thru coffee chain into one of Oregon's most valuable companies.
For Ricci, the debut was the culmination of a "Zoomfest" introducing the chain to investors and analysts, many who were unfamiliar with the company, limited for now to 11 western states.
"Ninety to 95% of the people we've met this year in this process have never been to a Dutch Bros," Ricci said. But it has not been a hard concept to explain.
"At the end of the day, we're a beverage company. We're serving espresso-based drinks. We're serving our Blue Rebel Energy. We're serving our cold brew, teas and lemonades," he said. "It's a pretty simple concept to understand once you get the premise of who we are and what we're about."
It is one that the company expects millions of customers to catch on to, as well, if Dutch Bros expects to realize its plan to grow to 4,000 stores from the 500 it operates now.
"We've talked a lot about a vision for 4,000 locations, all domestic, and we've mapped out what that strategy looks like through contiguous territories, growing the brand, the people systems that are in place to support that," Ricci said. "Really, it's the people systems that drive opportunity not our real estate. The more people we can develop and provide opportunities for, the more real estate we'll be able to open up to support them."
The chain now employs between 15,000 and 16,000, he said.
The market's enthusiasm for Dutch Bros' prospects drove its share price (NYSE: BROS) to around $38 Wednesday, about 65% above the $23 shares were priced at in the debut. That signals the IPO could have raised more for the company, but Ricci said that concern pales next to what the debut means for the company.
"We're not going to use hindsight on this one. I think we're just going to enjoy the day," he said. "I think it says something about the story we were telling people and it says something the confidence they have in the model."
Ricci also discussed what the day meant to Boersma, who founded the company in 1992 with his late brother Dane.
"For Trav, he's so proud of what the company's accomplished. I think he's thought a lot about his brother this week and what it would have meant to him and knowing that his brother is looking down today with a big old smile on his face and giving it a 'hell yeah.'"
