Dillanos Coffee Roasters facts for kids
Private | |
Industry | Coffee |
Founded | 1992 |
Founder | David Morris, Howard Heyer, Chris Heyer |
Headquarters | Sumner, Washington |
Owner | David Morris, Chris Heyer |
Number of employees
|
70 |
Dillanos Coffee Roasters is a coffee roaster located in Sumner, Washington. Dillanos roasts a variety of specialty coffee blends and single-origin coffees, including several direct trade coffees marketed under the One Harvest Project label. The company employs nearly 70 people and distributes its coffee to more than 1,500 wholesale accounts across the nation.
History
David Morris opened Dillanos in 1992 with the help of his stepfather, Howard Heyer. Named after Morris's son, Dillon, the business originally consisted of one espresso cart located in front of Heyer's convenience store in Buckley, Washington. Morris and Heyer opened two additional retail outlets the following year.
Chris Heyer, Howard's son and Morris' half-brother, joined the operation shortly after it opened and started roasting with a 20-pound coffee roaster. The brothers originally intended to roast only for their retail stores and a few wholesale customers, but within a few years, decided instead to sell the stores and pursue wholesale roasting full-time. In 2004, Dillanos moved its roasting operation to Sumner, Washington just east of Tacoma.
In 2011, the company was named Roast Magazine’s Macro Roaster of the Year, presented annually to the U.S.'s top roaster with an output of more than 100,000 pounds as decided by the Roast editorial board.
As of 2012, the company employs nearly 70 people in a 45,000-square-foot (4,200 m2) roasting facility. Dillanos roasts its coffee on three roasters — a 120-kilo Diedrich, a 240-kilo Diedrich, and a 25-kilo Probat — and distributes its coffee to standalone operations, chains/franchises, distributors, e-commerce outlets, and grocery stores.