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Iconic coffee chain to move its headquarters out of Oregon

Iconic coffee chain to move its headquarters out of Oregon

Daily Mail​21 hours ago

An iconic coffee chain founded in Oregon has officially decided to move its headquarters from the woke state to Arizona. Dutch Bros Coffee confirmed this week that it will shift operations from its original base in Grants Pass to a growing office near Phoenix - another blow to the liberal state. The $11.8 billion drive-thru business, which is Oregon's second most valuable company after the activewear brand Nike, announced it will relocate its corporate headquarters in the near future.
The major move represents yet another high-profile business fleeing the area, where sky-high taxes, crime and regulations have driven companies to seek refuge in Republican states. The move comes just 18 months after the coffee giant tapped Arizona native Christine Barone as CEO as it revealed plans to use millions to relocate much of its workforce to Phoenix. OregonLive said Dutch Bros executives living near the current HQ in Grants Pass had struggled to find adequate childcare in the small city.
But Republicans say the Democrats including Governor Tina Kotek should have fought far harder to keep the chain in the Beaver State, as its revenue continues to rocket. Some also suggested liberal policies passed in state capital Salem were anti-business and helped drive Dutch Bros to the Republican stronghold of Arizona.
'Dutch Bros has been more than just a coffee company; it's been a valued employer, a community partner, and a symbol of local innovation and grit,' said Rep. Dwayne Yunker, R-Josephine County, in a written statement, as reported by Oregon Live. 'Their departure should alarm every policymaker in Salem,' Yunker said. Dailymail.com has reached out to Kotek for comment but has not yet received a response.
The coffee company claims the move is aimed to help 'bring more people together' in order to 'better serve customers' across the country. 'Over the past several months, we have seen the functional and cultural advantages of having more of our field support roles working together in one place,' the company wrote in a statement. 'To support the next phase of Dutch Bros' growth, we're relocating additional roles to our new Phoenix office and making strategic changes to the structure of several teams.'
'Bringing more people together will allow us to better serve our customers and crews across the country,' the company said. 'With these changes, the Phoenix office will become our official HQ.' Despite the move, Dutch Bros said it would maintain a presence in Southern Oregon and continue investing in the region through its charitable foundation. 'Additionally, through the Dutch Bros Foundation, we'll continue our long-standing commitment to uplifting and supporting the Southern Oregon community,' the company said.
The coffee chain started as a humble cart in tiny Grants Pass back in 1992. Brothers Travis and late Dane Boersma built their operation into a nationwide company with over 1,000 locations. Annual sales have exploded from just $240 million five years ago to a staggering $1.3 billion last year, with predictions of another whopping 22 percent surge in 2025.
The decision comes amid an ongoing trend of major companies leaving West Coast states, due to various factors such as crime, policies and taxes. Last month, a long-standing outdoor store decided to close all of its Oregon locations, marking another business casualty in Portland as crime remains at 'historic heights'. Next Adventure, a beloved outdoor gear store founded by childhood friends Deek Heykamp and Bryan Knudsen in 1997, grew into a 'beloved Portland institution' throughout its three decades in operation, making nearly $24 million in annual sales at its peak, Portland Business Journal reported.
The business eventually expanded to four locations across Oregon - its flagship store in Portland's Central Eastside, another in Sandy, and two paddle centers in Portland and Columbia County. However, all four locations are set to close later this year, the owners announced. 'We're entering a very uncertain time, there are challenges and we're in our 60s,' Heykamp said at the time. 'So when you're in uncertain times, and you make decisions as a leader, it's my and Bryan's responsibility to look at our business and make good decisions on how we can build stability and build the best possible outcome for everybody,' he added.
'And after a lot of work, we came up that this is the right direction to go.' Portland and Oregon became symbolic of the decline of Democrat-run progressive cities in the wake of the COVID pandemic. The once stunning city on the Willamette River became a byword for homelessness, open-air drug use, far-left-wing riots and lawmakers happy to turn a blind eye to urban decay. Businesses fled downtown Portland in droves amid plummeting quality of life, with the city enduring record murder rates in 2022. The city finally appears to have been shamed into taking action in recent months, with voters dumping progressive prosecutor Mike Schmidt and clearing homeless encampments from its downtown.

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Trump finds victories at the Supreme Court in rush of emergency cases
Trump finds victories at the Supreme Court in rush of emergency cases

Reuters

time3 hours ago

  • Reuters

Trump finds victories at the Supreme Court in rush of emergency cases

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6 wild and unexpected Donald Trump moments as judge rules he acted illegally
6 wild and unexpected Donald Trump moments as judge rules he acted illegally

Daily Mirror

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  • Daily Mirror

6 wild and unexpected Donald Trump moments as judge rules he acted illegally

The Trump administration was last night scrambling to come up with a position in response to Israel's pre-emptive strikes on Iran. The attack is likely to be problematic for Trump, who has been seeking a deal with Iran to prevent them working on a nuclear weapon. Whether it was part of the calculus that led to the strikes or not, it's likely Israel's action will scupper those talks for now. Trump plans to meet with top security officials in the Situation Room at the White House at around 4pm UK time. Which means it will have been 15 hours since the attack took place by the time the President is fully briefed on it. Where is he? Meanwhile, a judge has predictably ruled Trump overstepped by sending the National Guard to LA. And Pete Hegseth basically confirmed plans have been drawn up to invade Greenland. Everything is fine. Here's what you need to know. 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Turner tried again: "It is not your testimony today that there are plans at the Pentagon for taking by force Because I sure as hell hope that is not your testimony." Hegseth replied: "We look forward to working with Greenland to ensure that it is secured from any potential threats." That, readers, is not a no. Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California, was forcibly removed from a press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in his home state. Footage of the incident shows security pushing him out of the room, ordering him to put his hands up. And further video posted online show officers manhandling him to the floor and handcuffed in the corridor outside. (For UK readers, even in America it's almost unheard of for a sitting, elected Senator to be physically detained, and presumably arrested). Senator Padilla told onlookers he had "questions" for Noem - presumably related to the deployment of military personnel to his state. Noem later claimed he'd "lunged" toward the podium, that he didn't identify himself, and that nobody knew who he was. The first words he said to her, as captured on video, were: "I'm Senator Alex Padilla". As tension between the White House and Europe heats up, the Mirror has launched its very own US Politics WhatsApp community where you'll get all the latest news from across the pond. We'll send you the latest breaking updates and exclusives all directly to your phone. Users must download or already have WhatsApp on their phones to join in. All you have to do to join is , select 'Join Chat' and you're in! We may also send you stories from other titles across the Reach group. We will also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you're curious, you can read our . It seems someone has finally got through to Trump, and explained that if he deports every undocumented person in the US, Americans will starve and Las Vegas will collapse into the desert. In a spectacular u-turn, one which will cause Stephen Miller real physical pain, Trump indicated he might make exceptions to his mass deportations for nice undocumented people who work in farms and hotels. "You go into a farm and you look at people -- they've been there for 20, 25, years, and they've worked great, and the owner of the farm loves them, and everything else and then you're supposed to throw them out," he said. "We're going to have an order on that pretty soon, I think," he added. "We can't do that to our farmers and leisure too, hotels." Trump said on his Truth Social site that the waiting list is open for his $5m 'Trump card'. The card, it's claimed, will grant the buyer legal permanent residency in the US. The gold-colored card prominently features a drawing of the president with a bald eagle in front of him and the Statue of Liberty behind. It reads "United States of America" across the top, "The Trump Card" on the right side in bolder letters with stars around it, and Trump's signature above the $5 million figure. Follow our Mirror Politics account on Bluesky here. And follow our Mirror Politics team here - Lizzy Buchan, Mikey Smith, Kevin Maguire, Sophie Huskisson, Dave Burke and Ashley Cowburn. Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you want to leave our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Or sign up here to the Mirror's Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox. And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell, hosted by the Mirror and the Express every Thursday.

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