SPOKANE, Wash. – More than two years after being destroyed by a dump truck, the Dutch Bros. location at 4th Ave. and Freya St. has finally reopened.
In August 2021, a dump truck barreled through an empty Liberty Tax building and into the Dutch Bros. coffee stand, sending seven people to the hospital. Miraculously, no one was killed.
The driver admitted to police he used meth the night before, and was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
“It has been meaningful and a little emotional to be back on the site,” local Dutch Bros. owner Kevin Parker said Wednesday. “I can remember where the truck was, where the driver was and where my employees were standing to the side. You remember all of that so visually.”
Darian Mitzimberg was the store manager at the time. He wasn’t at the store when the crash happened, but recalls the emotions when he saw the destruction himself for the first time.
“The shop was being held up by the truck, crazy is the only way I can put it,” Mitzimberg said. “It was high anxiety, high stress, but I was really glad that we had the best outcome that we possibly could out of this whole situation–everyone was able to live and tell the story.”
“The most powerful thing was I heard so many first responders mention to each other they couldn’t believe there weren’t casualties,” Parker said. “It was a big accident, there was a lot of damage caused by that truck.”
After two long years, the “bro-istas” as they’re known, are back to doing what they do best: slinging mochas and smiles.
“I still remember faces, names and drinks and all of that stuff, we’re glad that we can finally give this community Dutch Bros. again,” Mitzimberg said. “It just feels great to see all the regulars come through and say ‘this is going to be my old new home again!'”
As a show of support for the community and to celebrate the location’s grand re-opening, Dutch Bros. is donating $1 for every drink sold on Wednesday to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center.
