MARILYN displays fruits of a trip to nearest Dutch Bros.

What’s In Store: One more preview of what is planned for Garden Grove, development-wise. A Dutch Bros. coffee (and more) shop will be opening near the Target store at Brookhurst Street and Westminster Avenue by the end of March, we are told.

Now, if you say, “Big deal. Don’t we already have two armfuls of Starbucks in town already?”
True, but these guys aren’t Starbucks, which I have to say is revered by my household. Dutch Bros. started in Grants’ Pass, Oregon and has grown across the western United States.

How Dutch Bros. differs from, say, Starbucks and others is the selection of coffees and other drinks. They tend to be less … uh … pretentious in naming their offerings and more … down-to-earth.
There’s “Kicker,” “Annihilator” and (my fave) “Golden Eagle.” There are “rebel” energy drinks, lemonades, shakes, smoothies and a very small selection of food items.

Not trying to shill for these guys, but when we visited their nearest location (on Magnolia Street in Fountain Valley) they had two lanes full in the drive-thru with four minions taking orders.
It’s kind of a cult thing, You might like it. We did.

Growing Fast: I have it on pretty good authority that Sprouts (an affordable version of Whole Foods) is looking for a location in Westminster.

The store in Garden Grove (Chapman Avenue, west of Brookhurst) appears to be doing very well and that might be inspiring the chain to expand further in the OC. There are already stores in Irvine, Seal Beach, Brea, Orange, Huntington Beach (two), Irvine, Laguna Niguel, Costa Mesa (two), Fountain Valley and La Habra.