Dutch Bros. Coffee serves Moscow citizens their much-needed caffeine fix
Carlie Funk loves her job.
She said she loves Moscow summers the best, and she loves the small-town feel.
She came to Moscow from Boise three years ago, and has worked at Dutch Bros. Coffee as a full-time employee for a year and a half.
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Dutch Bros. Coffee, located on Highway 95, was voted Moscow’s Best Coffee Shop.
“Just the fact that I get to come to work every day and it’s a party,” Funk said. “It’s literally a party every day. It’s just the high energy and the culture … My co-workers are like family.”
Dutch Bros. sits on the north side of Moscow, a bit out of the way for some University of Idaho students, but usually they don’t mind the length of the journey for the service they receive at the busy little drive-thru coffee shop.
Annie Exline, a UI freshman, said she loves the coffee at Dutch Bros. and makes her way over there at least once a week.
“I like how friendly they are, and the drinks are always good, no matter what you get,” Exline said.
Amanda Annotti is the first and only owner of the Moscow Dutch Bros., which is a franchise of over 200 stores in seven states.
She had been working at a Dutch Bros. in Coeur d’Alene before deciding to open the shop in Moscow two years ago.
“I love the small town,” Annotti said. “I love going to the store and seeing 10 of my customers and building relationships with people that you see every single day, because it’s such a small community and a close community.”
She said the shop keeps a steady pace of customers throughout the day, with a morning rush from 8-10 a.m. and an afternoon rush from about 3-5 p.m.
In January, they launched their 24-hour service by giving out free coffee during the graveyard shift and even though they have been open 24 hours ever since, she said the graveyard shift is still pretty slow.
“But honestly, it just created those really loyal customers that could come at two in the morning or come in the afternoon,” Annotti said. “I think the fact that we’re open 24 hours helps with that.”
Including Annotti, she said there are 18 employees working the different shifts.
In the mornings as many as five people work one shift to keep the customers moving through during the busiest hours of the day.
She said she enjoys owning the shop in Moscow, not only because of the small-town aspect, but because of the people she gets to work with.
“The best part about it is the culture that we have here, and being able to hire employees that I love and who are awesome at the job,” Annotti said. “Training them is always a challenge, but after that training period, it’s awesome to see them grow.”
Mary Malone can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @InkSlasherEdit