skinzfan23 wrote: Fri Dec 29, 2023 7:20 pm
They now have around 750 stores in the US. They are now the nation's 5th largest chain behind Starbucks(which has over 15,000 locations), Dunkin, Panera and Dutch Bros. That is quite the growth since 2022. At that time they had just passed 400 stores.
I really feel like that ranking should be limited to businesses for whom coffee is the majority of their revenue. Panera seems like a bit of a stretch. Maybe I am wrong, but I doubt their drive through is line up 10 cars in the morning which people just getting coffees. Why not throw McDonald's on there since they server coffee too? It'd be interesting to see, of the places that are primarily coffeehouses, where Scooter's ranks.
I did some light research on this, these are worldwide for strabucks, dunkin, and dutch, etc:
Starbucks - 33k
Dunkin - 11k
Krispy Kreme - 1005
The Coffee Bean - 1000, though this includes locales in like a dozen countries
Dutch - 879
Scooters - 750
Caribou - 725
The funny thing is, if you google "largest coffee chains in the US" I couldn't find Scooter's listed anywhere but with the number of locations that they have they are definitely in the top 5. Probably even argue that there are more than Dutch Bros.
skinzfan23 wrote: Wed Jan 03, 2024 8:01 pm
The funny thing is, if you google "largest coffee chains in the US" I couldn't find Scooter's listed anywhere but with the number of locations that they have they are definitely in the top 5. Probably even argue that there are more than Dutch Bros.
Scooter's is likely the reason a number of other competitors were never able to move into the Omaha market in any real numbers. Given our location you'd think we'd be overrun with Caribou Coffee, but nope.
skinzfan23 wrote: Wed Jan 03, 2024 8:01 pm
The funny thing is, if you google "largest coffee chains in the US" I couldn't find Scooter's listed anywhere but with the number of locations that they have they are definitely in the top 5. Probably even argue that there are more than Dutch Bros.
I think a lot of it is the rate they’ve expanded in the last few years. At the beginning of 2023 they had 500 stores, now they are approaching 800, if they’re not there already.
Saw this article about how Scooters is growing faster than any other brand in the Midwest and Texas. It is also the second fastest growing brand in the country.
Matt Olberding, Lincoln Journal Star wrote:
A Nebraska-based coffee chain is the fastest-growing brand in the Midwest and the second-fastest-growing brand in the country. But, curiously, it's not the fastest-growing brand in Nebraska.
According to Yelp, the online review site, Scooter's Coffee is growing faster than any other brand in the Midwest, is second in the west and third in the south. It's also second nationwide, trailing only fast-casual restaurant chain Cava, which has a Mediterranean-inspired menu.
Yelp's ranking takes into account net business openings, consumer interest and searches on Yelp to determine which brands are growing the most.
The sidewalk is closed and there’s a fence around Scooter’s Coffee on 30th Street and Ames Avenue in north Omaha. At first glance, people might think there’s not a lot going on here, but one who knows the history would know that a truck ran into the coffee shop back in September, knocking out a wall, destroying the drive-thru and ultimately, closing the doors. So what’s there today is certainly progress. “We’ve come a long way,” said the shop’s owner, Julian Young. “It’s been a process, obviously. We’ve got the wall rebuilt, infrastructure and all of that is rebuilt. I think the hardest part has been done.”
This popped up on my Fidelity page this morning: Scooter's is exploring a sale. Retained BofA to find a buyer. Valued at 1B USD. For comparison, Dutch Bros is 11B.
PWL73316 wrote: Fri Aug 08, 2025 3:51 am
Oof that stinks. I’m at Scooters a lot more than I should be, for the health of my wallet.
Sell to private equity and quality will nosedive. Remember how good PepperJax used to be?
Totally agree! I won't even go to Pepperjax anymore. We actually buy the Gary's Quick Steak at HyVee or Sam's and make our own at home. It's the same damn thing and was invented by the guy who started Pepperjax originally.
Stinks to see things like this happen when you're the consumer and already enjoy the product. Of course, we'll be the only ones that notice the changes.
PWL73316 wrote: Fri Aug 08, 2025 3:51 am
Remember how good PepperJax used to be?
Totally agree! I won't even go to Pepperjax anymore. We actually buy the Gary's Quick Steak at HyVee or Sam's and make our own at home. It's the same damn thing and was invented by the guy who started Pepperjax originally.
Haven't others on here said that PepperJax still sources their meat from Gary's Quick Steak and their bread still comes from Rotella? I found it hard to believe as the quality of PepperJax sandwiches certainly feels like it's gone downhill. Though, sometimes I wonder if their food is worse or if my expectations of food have just gotten better.
PWL73316 wrote: Fri Aug 08, 2025 3:51 am
Oof that stinks. I’m at Scooters a lot more than I should be, for the health of my wallet.
Sell to private equity and quality will nosedive.
Stinks to see things like this happen when you're the consumer and already enjoy the product. Of course, we'll be the only ones that notice the changes.
I think deep down we all knew with Scooter's growth it probably wasn't going to stay locally owned. Honestly, I'm surprised it's taken them this long to decide to sell. I get it. The owners want to spend their golden years on a yacht not running a business. I hope they sell to another midwest regional chain (Caribou Coffee for example). Fortunately, there's a lot of other great local chains like The Beanery and Stories and probably a few others that I'm not aware of in my neck of the woods.,
ChadJK wrote: Fri Aug 08, 2025 2:20 pm
I hope they sell to another midwest regional chain (Caribou Coffee for example).
Caribou, along with Einstein Bros, merged with Panera in 2021. I get your sentiment, but Caribou definitely is not the regional feel good coffeehouse from MN anymore.
