Rank no.449 –  Dunn Bros Coffee – US

Products & Services: Coffee

Number of Locations: 78

Total Investment: $141K – 429.39K

Founded: 1987

Began Franchising: 1994

About Dunn Bros Coffee

Brothers Ed and Dan Dunn open their first coffee shop in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1987. Chris Eilers and Skip Fay became the first Dunn Bros franchisees in 1994, and in 1998, they purchased the rights to franchise the system themselves. Dunn Bros shops, located primarily throughout the Midwest, roast their coffee in-store, usually daily.

Where Seeking Franchisees: Franchisor is seeking new franchise units in the following states:
Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Midwest, North Dakota, South, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin.
Startup Costs, Ongoing Fees and Financing

Total Investment: $141,000 – $429,400
Franchise Fee: $24,000 – $32,000
Ongoing Royalty Fee: 5%
Term of Franchise Agreement: 10 years, renewable
FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS
Net Worth: $500,000
Liquid Cash Available: $90,000
OPERATIONS
30% of all franchisees own more than one unit. Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 15. Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed..

How This Franchise Supports Franchisees

Training: Available at headquarters: 2 1/2 weeks.
Ongoing Support: Newsletter, Meetings, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations
Marketing Support: Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, National media,
Franchise Ranking History

Franchise 500®: #449 (2013), #462 (2012), #427 (2011), #291 (2010), #367 (2009),
Dunn Bros Coffee is a franchise company of coffeehouses founded in St. Paul, Minnesota, in December 1987 by brothers Ed and Dan Dunn.[1] The first store was opened on Grand Avenue in St. Paul,[2] when Ed Dunn drove a pickup truck loaded with his refurbished 1950s Probat roaster from Portland, Oregon, to St. Paul in search of a good, underserved location. The second location opened in Uptown Minneapolis in 1991 (and was temporarily the only location while the Grand Avenue store recovered from a 1991 fire).
The store’s locations are primarily in the American Midwest, especially Minnesota, where there are 74 locations. In the last few years stores have also opened in Texas, Tennessee, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Iowa. Dunn Bros Coffee is a franchise, and most stores are locally owned and operated. One distinguishing feature that separates Dunn Bros from most of its chain competitors is that at every traditional location the coffee is roasted right in the store, usually on a daily basis.[3] This allows customers to buy freshly roasted whole beans. Three roast levels are often available: a medium Full City, a medium-dark Vienna Roast, and a dark French Roast, which either adds a smoky flavor to the bean (French Roast) or allows subtle nuances to be distinguishable (Full City roast). Some coffee roasters can produce about a dozen roast levels, and many types of beans are considered over-roasted as French or Italian. Dunn Bros Coffee does not produce an Italian Roast on the grounds that it often produces a charred flavor in the highest grades of Arabica beans. The in-store roasting and small batch sizes typically allow for the availability of 12-15 varieties of whole beans.Typical cup, As of June 2006, Dunn Bros was the ninth largest coffee company in the U.S., with 85 locations throughout the country.

Source: Wikipedia