Stumptown Coffee Roasters

Stumptown Coffee Roasters

Company type	Private
Industry	Coffee roasting and retail
Founded	1999 (1999)
Founder	Duane Sorenson
Headquarters	Portland, Oregon , United States
Area served	Portland, Seattle, New York, Pasadena, Chicago, New Orleans
Key people	Duane Sorenson (founder)
Products	Coffee, cold brew coffee, canned nitro cold brew
Owner	Peet's Coffee (part of JAB Holding Company)
Number of employees	220 (2024)
Website	stumptowncoffee.com

Stumptown Coffee Roasters is a coffee roasting and retail company based in Portland, Oregon, established in 1999 by Duane Sorenson. The business manages several cafes, a roasting facility, and a tasting annex within Portland, along with additional outlets in Seattle, New York, and Pasadena. It operates under the ownership of Peet's Coffee, which is a part of the JAB Holding Company portfolio.

The brand is acclaimed for its groundbreaking contributions to cold brew coffee, particularly for pioneering the canned nitro cold brew format, and it continues to innovate with new cold brew offerings. By 2024, Stumptown employs around 220 individuals and emphasizes growth in prominent metropolitan areas.

History

Duane Sorenson, the founder, along with Stumptown Coffee Roasters, are prominent figures in the third wave coffee movement. Sorenson and his team made direct visits to coffee plantations, frequently paying premiums that were three to four times higher than fair trade prices, setting records for some of the highest payments made for coffee beans.

Sorenson also introduced distinctive employee perks such as financing a music compilation featuring their own bands and hiring a dedicated massage therapist. In 2006, Stumptown was honored with the Roaster of the Year award by Roast Magazine, a respected publication within the coffee industry.

In January 2014, Stumptown ventured into retail by releasing pre-mixed coffee beverages containing milk for grocery store shelves. The following year, Peet's Coffee acquired Stumptown Coffee Roasters in a deal whose financial details were not disclosed.

Locations

Within Portland, Stumptown runs five cafes located at SE 45th & Division St., SE 34th & Belmont, downtown at SW 3rd & Ash St., inside the Ace Hotel at 1022 SW Stark Street, and at Portland International Airport. Their headquarters at 100 SE Salmon St. houses both their roasting operation and a retail annex. The original SE Division cafe was previously a hair salon called "The Hair Bender," which inspired one of their well-known espresso blends.

In November 2007, the company expanded to Seattle with two new cafes. By September 2009, they had opened a cafe inside New York’s Ace Hotel. A brief pop-up shop appeared in Amsterdam’s De Pijp district in 2010 but was never intended as a permanent establishment.

The year 2013 saw Stumptown opening a second café in New York City as well as a combined café and roastery in Los Angeles. Subsequent locations have been established in Chicago and New Orleans. Their third New York City location launched during summer 2018 inside a historic Brooklyn firehouse. The Portland International Airport venue opened in 2024, underscoring ongoing expansion into major urban markets.

Reception

In the Willamette Week 2006 'Best of Portland' readers' poll, Stumptown was awarded Best Coffee (Locally Roasted). It achieved runner-up status for Best Coffee Shop in 2017 and secured Best Coffee Roaster in 2018. The company placed second in the Best Coffee category again in both 2020 and 2022.

See also

• List of coffee companies
• List of coffeehouse chains

References

• Foley, Karen. This Olde Coffee House. Willamette Week. Retrieved February 16, 2006.
• Moss, Matthew. (April 17, 2002). Cafe Ole Ole Ole. Willamette Week. Retrieved February 16, 2006.
• Sloan, Gene. (March 7, 2002). 10 Great Places for Caffeine and Conversation . USA Today. Retrieved February 16, 2006.