A recent industry study ranked the top 10 major restaurant chains for employee satisfaction, and an Oregon-founded company placed near the top.
Oregon’s much-loved — and debated — coffee staple Dutch Bros was ranked at No. 3.
The analysis was published by financial services company William Blair, and looked at company culture and values, trust in management and work-life balance.
West Coast fan favorite In-N-Out has topped the list for employee happiness for 10 straight years, and this year was no different. 91 percent of In-N-Out employees would recommend their job to a friend, one of the key metrics in the analysis.
“In-N-Out is the only brand that has maintained a top 10 ranking every year in the past decade,” National Restaurant News reported.
By contrast, the lowest ranked restaurant, Hardee’s, had just 39 percent of employees say the same.
Raising Cane’s was No. 2, with 82 percent. At No. 3, Dutch Bros had 78 percent.
California coffee brand Peet’s was ranked at No. 5.
Dutch Bros has long been beloved by Oregon locals, especially in Grants Pass where it was founded, for its candy-colored energy drinks and elaborate caffeinated concoctions – though it also comes under fire from coffee purists for being a little light on the actual coffee under all that flavor.
The company on Wednesday disclosed plans to move its corporate headquarters from Grants Pass, where it was founded in 1992, to Arizona.
Fans of the brand — the so-called Dutch Mafia — were split about the move on social media, with many seeing it as a betrayal of the state that helped the company succeed.
CEO Christine Barone has lived and worked in Arizona since the company hired her in 2023.
In 2022, founder and chairman Travis Boersma abandoned plans to open a horse racing facility and casino in Josephine County after the Oregon Supreme Court found that the plan violated the state constitution.
Dutch Bros went public in 2021, after nearly 30 years of private ownership.
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