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Stumptown Coffee Roasters

Stumptown Coffee Roasters is a coffee roaster and retailer based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The chain's first location opened in 1999. Three other cafes, a roastery and a tasting annex have since opened in Portland, as well as locations in Seattle, New York, and Pasadena.[2] Stumptown is owned by Peet's Coffee,[3][4] which in turn is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper. The company was an early innovator with cold brew coffee in nitro cans and have continued to develop other cold brew product innovations.[5]

History

Founder Duane Sorenson and Stumptown Coffee Roasters have been labeled as part of the third wave of coffee movement.[6][7] Sorenson and his employees visited coffee farms in person and reportedly paid high prices for beans, occasionally three or four times the fair trade price.[8] He once set the record for highest price ever paid for coffee beans.[9][10][11]

Sorenson also offered atypical perks to his employees such as paying for a compilation album to be produced of their various bands,[12] and hiring a full-time on-staff massage therapist.[13] Stumptown received the Roaster of the Year 2006, an award from a technical trade magazine called Roast Magazine[13]

In January 2014, the company began selling coffee, pre-mixed with milk, in grocery stores.[14] In 2015, Stumptown Coffee Roasters was bought by Peet's Coffee for an undisclosed amount.[4]

Locations

Stumptown operates five cafes in Portland. They are located on SE 45th & Division St., SE 34th & Belmont, downtown at SW 3rd & Ash St., inside the Ace Hotel at 1022 SW Stark Street, and at the Portland International Airport. The company also owns a roasting facility and a retail annex inside their headquarters at 100 SE Salmon St. The original location on SE Division was previously a hair salon called "The Hair Bender," whose name Stumptown adopted for one of their signature espresso blends.

In November 2007, Stumptown opened two cafes in Seattle.[15] In September 2009, the company also launched a cafe in New York's Ace Hotel.[16] A temporary "pop-up" location appeared in Amsterdam's De Pijp neighborhood in May 2010.[17] Opened by Sorenson, he claimed it was never intended to be permanent and closed its doors that same year.

In 2013, Stumptown opened a second New York City café and a café/roaster in Los Angeles.[18] Additional cafes have also opened in Chicago and New Orleans. Stumptown opened their third New York cafe in a historic Brooklyn firehouse in the summer of 2018.[19] A location at the Portland International Airport opened in 2024.[20][21]

Reception

Stumptown won in the Best Coffee (Locally Roasted) category of Willamette Week annual 'Best of Portland' readers' poll in 2006.[22] It was a runner-up in the Best Coffee Shop category in 2017 and won in the Best Coffee Roaster category in 2018.[23][24] Stumptown was a runner-up and ranked second in the Best Coffee category in 2020 and 2022, respectively.[25][26] It was a finalist in the same category in 2025.[27]

See also

External links

References

  1. With West End Move, Stumptown Bets Big on Downtown April 22, 2024, retrieved May 20, 2025^
  2. Reed Jackson. Stumptown Coffee Opens New Headquarters DJC Oregon, August 29, 2012, retrieved August 30, 2012^
  3. Monica Burton. The Founder of Stumptown Is Launching an Independent Coffee Company Eater, retrieved October 5, 2017^
  4. Stephanie Strom. Peet's Buys Stumptown Coffee Roasters The New York Times, October 6, 2015, retrieved January 17, 2018^
  5. Sarah Bennett. Stumptown's Cold Brew in Nitro Cans Is Beer-Inspired Coffee Innovation LA Weekly, April 27, 2015, retrieved October 8, 2021^
  6. Zach Dundas. Bean Town Willamette Week, October 11, 2006, retrieved February 16, 2008^
  7. Trish R. Skeie. Third Wave Barista Magazine, retrieved February 16, 2008^
  8. Anne Marie DiStafano. Stumptown's blend The Portland Tribune, June 30, 2006, retrieved February 16, 2008^
  9. Kelly Clarke. Unwrapped Willamette Week, December 8, 2004, retrieved February 16, 2008^
  10. David Griswold. Worth Its Weight Roast Magazine, September–October 2004, retrieved February 16, 2008^
  11. Josh Ozersky. Is Stumptown the New Starbucks...or Better? Time Magazine, March 9, 2010^
  12. CD Review: Worker's Comp: Stumptown Sessions Vol. 1 The Portland Mercury, March 14, 2002, retrieved February 16, 2008^
  13. 2006 Roaster of the Year Roast Magazine, October–November 2005, retrieved February 16, 2008^
  14. Max Rothman. Stumptown Gives Dairy Aisle Cold Brew Boost BevNET.com, January 10, 2014, retrieved October 30, 2015^
  15. Kristin Dizon. Get perking: Portland's highly-regarded Stumptown Coffee comes to Capitol Hill Seattle Post Intelligencer, November 15, 2007, retrieved November 24, 2007^
  16. Oliver Strand. A Seductive Cup New York Times, September 16, 2009, retrieved January 20, 2009^
  17. Going Dutch Stumptown Coffee in Amsterdam The Oregonian, March 18, 2010, retrieved May 7, 2025^
  18. Stumptown Coffee Roasters Website - New York Cafés retrieved June 10, 2022^
  19. Stumptown Opens Third New York Cafe in Historic Brooklyn Firehouse Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine, July 30, 2018, retrieved September 5, 2018^
  20. Malia Spencer. Stumptown at 25: Execs talk growth, innovation and coffee Portland Business Journal, retrieved May 7, 2025^
  21. Janey Wong. The Best Restaurants, Bars, and Cafes at Portland International Airport (PDX) Eater Portland, July 27, 2023, retrieved May 20, 2025^
  22. Best of Portland: READER'S POLL Willamette Week, August 9, 2006, retrieved May 20, 2025^
  23. Here are the Winners of the Best of Portland Readers' Poll 2017 Willamette Week, retrieved May 20, 2025^
  24. Here are the Winners of the Best of Portland Readers' Poll 2018 Willamette Week, July 11, 2018, retrieved May 20, 2025^
  25. FOOD, DRINK, RESTAURANTS Willamette Week, retrieved May 20, 2025^
  26. Drink Winners Willamette Week, retrieved May 20, 2025^
  27. 2025 Best of Portland Readers’ Poll: Drink Willamette Week, 2025-07-23, retrieved 2026-02-04^