Dutch Bros. Coffee opened their new walk-up and drive-thru stand on 53rd and Philomath Blvd. The coffee chain continued their tradition of handing out free drinks on opening day. By 5:30 p.m. on April 22, the store had brought in close to 1,500 orders.

However, not all of the attention was good. Throughout the day, Dutch Bros. staff dealt with traffic complications and noise complaints.

“If we ever get another noise complaint, the cops have my number so they can notify me,” David Walser, one of the managers at the new location, said.

There are two other coffee shops right next to the recently added Dutch Bros.—Imagine Coffee and Sunbreak Express. Sunbreak Express is locally owned, and has its own walking path to the neighborhood behind it. It’s been in the community for fifteen years and is owned by Dan Cone. Cone welcomes the the competition of Dutch Bros., however, some of the people who live in the area fear their local coffee stand will go out of business.

The traffic to the new location interfered with access to a nearby apartment complex.

“The people living in the apartments can’t leave the parking lot,” Miles Baron, a customer on opening day, said.

This led back to some of the traffic issues the locals were worried about. Dutch Bros. wanted a high traffic area, but they seemed to struggle somewhat on opening day. The staff changed the entrance route to their drive-thru three times throughout the day.

After opening day, traffic died down and Dutch Bros. had time to finish integrating into the community.

“(We will be) adding a table and heated cover area for anyone who has to wait at the bus stop,” Walser said.