From Dutch Bros Barista to $20M Exit | Darren Spicer (Clutch Coffee Founder)

Interested in buying a franchise?

Are you a multi-unit owner considering selling your business?

Get in touch with Darren:

Darren Spicer started as a barista at Dutch Bros.

Years later, after the company shut down its franchise program, he built his own drive-thru coffee chain from scratch, scaling it to 20 locations before selling it back to Dutch Bros in a $20M deal.

In this episode, Darren breaks down:

• How he went from employee to founder

• The 80% pay cut he took to start Clutch Coffee

• The real economics of drive-thru coffee

• What it’s like managing 400+ hourly employees

• Why site selection can make or break a chain

• Growing 40% during COVID

• The mistake that cost them $10K per month

• And how the Dutch Bros acquisition actually came together

This is a full-cycle brick-and-mortar story, from barista to exit.

If you’re building (or thinking about building) a physical retail or franchise business, this episode is a masterclass in culture, real estate, and scaling the right way.