“As I trained, people knew I was the CEO, and our teams would always point out when I was doing something wrong,” Barone tells Fortune. “That is one of the magical signs of a great culture that I need to make sure I build upon, because when my team cares so much about the customer that they’re going to tell the CEO that they were doing something wrong, I love that.”

The executive’s beverage training is part of the company’s “growth from within” model. Dutch Bros staffers, from store owners to senior managers, have been put through the course for years to understand the hard work of the chain’s 25,000 broistas churning out drinks. During the training, leaders complete six shifts of hands-on shop training, sharpening their hospitality skills, perfecting drink orders, and learning how to deliver on the values of speed, quality and service.

The chain says they witness first-hand how customer connections are made, and learn how to perfect drinks including the popular Golden Eagle coffee, so that everything tastes the same on Monday as it does on Wednesday. At the end, Dutch Bros leaders have to pass a “Flow” test, with questions ranging from drink recipes and company history to shop operations and culture. And the brand is serious about its standards; those who don’t pass have to retake the test.

Barone says the broista bootcamp reflects the vision of Dutch Bros’ founders: brothers Travis Boersma and the late Dane Boersma, who named the company in honor of their grandparents who immigrated from the Netherlands. Aside from gaining technical and hospitality expertise, she says the training nurtures “compelling futures” at the company, and lights a path for employees to work themselves up the chain of command. 

“As we rolled it out to the more broader team across HQ, we were very thoughtful about making sure our marketing teams went through the training, especially the folks who are helping to design and make beverages,” the CEO explains. “Just thinking through: What are all those decisions we’re making that touch where the customer interaction is? And how do we ensure that everyone who is designing programs for our teams, or designing marketing programs, or designing new beverages, really understands what the shop environment feels like?”

How Dutch Bros has kept a strong culture as it grew into a $7.5 billion coffee giant

After Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, Dutch Bros is the third-largest coffee chain in the U.S. by sales and number of locations—and a huge hit among Gen Zers. But before ascending the caffeine mountaintop, the business was a humble roadside operation. 

Their family dairy business was struggling, forcing the Boersma brothers to sell their cows and consider a new venture.

Their coffee business started off with a pushcart and 100 pounds of coffee beans back in 1992, with the brothers slinging espresso by the railroad tracks of Grants Pass, Oregon. Friends, relatives, and loyal customers kept their dream alive as the business grew. In 1994, their pushcart was upgraded to a drive-thru stand; and just two years later, they had expanded to six locations. The first Dutch Bros franchise opened for business in 2000. 

The brand is known for its high-energy service and sugary drinks, which have since made their way to high school classrooms and office cubicles across the country. By 2018, it was already at 300 locations and employed 9,000 staffers, then private equity TSG Consumer Partners acquired a minority stake in Dutch Bros to grow it even more. 

The years following were marked by major milestones, including going public, surpassing $1 billion in revenue, and beefing up its store count. Dutch Bros reported record-breaking revenue of $1.64 billion in 2025, up 27.9% year over year. And now, the brand boasts 37,000 systemwide employees and 1,273 Dutch Bros locations across 27 U.S. states. It hopes to grow its store footprint to 2,029 by 2029.

It can be difficult for businesses to preserve their home-grown culture as headcounts balloon, operations spread out, and outside investors get into the mix. One way to preserve it may be getting leaders to experience the business from the ground floor. The Dutch Bros CEO says that it has operators—a store or market leader responsible for running location operations—start off their career on the coffee line before moving up and into new markets. And as they advance into leadership and expand the number of locations they’re managing, they understand front-line issues and are skilled in building tight community connections. 

“They’ll manage a region, so they’ll have their own set of shops that they’re managing. So why is that important?” Barone says. “Understanding this is the business that we’re in, and so when you have lived it yourself, your ability to understand where others on your team are starting from, you understand what that customer service feels like. That is important.” 

Barone says that a “large number” of workers at HQ started off as broistas, enabling senior staffers to make decisions “through the right lenses.” That firsthand experience helps employees develop a sense of empathy that extends from the boardroom to the coffee counter—and serves them whether they stay at Dutch Bros, or choose to go elsewhere.

“When we’re great at hospitality, the definition for me is almost the ability to think through how someone else will experience something, more so than ourselves,” Barone says. “It really is great to be able to be empathetic…I think it’s a great skill if folks come up with us, or if they go and choose to do something else.”