Hundreds of people descended upon Fountain Valley today to get their hands on Dutch Bros coffee, energy drinks and other beverages from the company’s vast menu. The Oregon-based drive-through coffee empire opened its first Orange County location on Friday, Feb 9.
With the first customer arriving around 10 p.m the night before, coffee zealots came from as far away as Arizona to try out the chain’s latest store on Magnolia Street in the Village Shopping Center. A line of cars snaked out of the shopping plaza and down the street by 8.a.m. An employee, decked out in hues of pink with butterfly-winged shoes, carried a large sign with rainbow felt lettering that read, “Questions? I can recommend a drink.” A gaggle of employees from the Lancaster Dutch Bros came to support the new store. The mass anticipation was palpable, giving credence to the company’s cult-like status.
“I was here at 5 a.m. with my kid, but left to drop him off at school, then came back to wait in line again,” sad Pilar Vidal of Huntington Beach, who eschewed the line of cars to wait in the queue of people lined up outside the walk-up window. “I love the different options they give you, and they make any coffee to your liking,” she adds.
Vidal added that she had planned on driving to Las Vegas this week specifically to go to Dutch Bros, but after hearing about the Fountain Valley opening, she stuck close to home. “This is going to get me addicted, being so close.”
After waiting in line, customers carried their caffeine-spiked hauls back to their cars. Some sat in SUVs with the back doors open in order to enjoy their very first Dutch Bros. The shopping plaza resembled a pre-game outside SoFi stadium.
Colleagues and friends Jocelyn Ortizano and Ally Cruz, who hail from Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa, respectively,…
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