Dutch Bros Inc. has named Jennifer Somers as Chief Shops Officer, effective immediately. Reporting directly to CEO Christine Barone, Somers will oversee operational excellence, consistency and growth across both company-owned and franchised drive-thru shops. Her remit includes enhancing shop performance metrics, standardizing best-practice playbooks and strengthening oversight of real-time operational KPIs such as service times, order accuracy and customer satisfaction scores.

Somers brings over 20 years of leadership experience in high-growth food and beverage brands. Most recently as Chief Operations Officer at CAVA, she managed a network of more than 300 locations and led initiatives that improved same-store sales by an average of 8% annually over three years. Prior to that, she spent six years at Taco Bell, where, as Senior Vice President of U.S. Restaurant Operations, she directed 7,000 domestic outlets and implemented process improvements that reduced labor costs by 4% system-wide.

With Dutch Bros operating 1,081 shops across 24 states as of September 30, 2025, the company is targeting an additional 200 new locations over the next 18 months. Somers’s appointment aligns with Dutch Bros’ strategy to scale while preserving its ‘people-first’ culture and community engagement model. Under her leadership, the company aims to improve average weekly shop throughput by 10%, enhance regional training programs for its 15,000 Broistas and drive incremental same-shop sales growth through menu innovation and operational efficiencies.