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To understand how 61-year-old Wally Tirheimer has the energy to build at the fastest rate of his career, look at how Tirheimer spends his free time. The director of construction at Dutch Bros has gone on a cruise with his family the last two summers. The first was called the “Yes Cruise,” and the second was the “Absolutely Cruise.” Whatever idea or experience presented itself, Tirheimer led a clan of ready and willing participants. Say yes, and make it happen. It’s in their blood, age be damned.
That mindset may explain why Tirheimer said yes to a public company that has pledged to build 4,000 coffee shops. As of March 31, 2024, there were 876. What has Tirheimer gotten himself into?
“When I was at Carl’s Jr. years ago, the goal was to wrap 50 projects a year,” Tirheimer recalls with a chuckle. “The organization thought that was a lot, and in the 14 years I was there, we never did get 50 a year. I started at Dutch Bros on the last day of November 2021. I was just watching the process and product, and these guys did 99 stores.”
In 2022, Tirheimer and his team completed 134 stores, and in 2023, they did 159. This year, it’s projected to be 150-165. In the first quarter of 2024, the team set up 45 shops. On a call, Tirheimer acknowledged that even for a team crushing projects at a superhuman level, this was still a “unique moment.”
“We were opening a store every 48 hours of that entire quarter,” Tirheimer explains.
Despite inflation, the pandemic’s lingering effects on supply chains, and the sheer pace of the work, Tirheimer’s team is operating at the highest levels of the industry. What enables that pace?
Tirheimer credits the team who was in place long before he came. The Dutch Bros real estate department built a pipeline that could sustain the prolonged building the company was preparing for. Procurement partners have been invaluable in tracking down hundreds of sets of electrical gear and other necessities for new shop locations. The director says he came into an organization already primed to move; his purview was simply to stomp down on the gas pedal.
Wally Tirheimer
“You cannot enter a situation thinking you are the fountain of knowledge … Have the self-confidence that is backed up by the work you’ve put in to prepare. Learn all you can and be ready to learn every single day you’re on the job.”
The director has one Southern California construction manager with 49 projects on his plate. His work is set for the next two years. To handle the pace, Dutch Bros is reassigning roles and regions to better manage the workload.
“I once said that the original coffee cart accidentally became a billion-dollar company,” Tirheimer explains. “So many of our leadership teams started by slinging coffee. That is incredible and a big part of our story. But as we’ve expanded and gone public, we now see people filling roles who have longtime experience running other big brands and public companies. That’s part of growing up as a company, and this organization is putting itself in a strong position to move into the future.”
Part of Tirheimer’s tenacity feels like it stems from a brief career detour early on. An industrial technology major, Tirheimer was already a project manager (PM) before he graduated, and he says he just wasn’t ready.
“I was 25 and dealing with 50-year-old ironworkers who eat 25-year-olds for lunch,” Tirheimer recalls. “It pushed me out. I got out completely for a minute, but I knew it was where my heart was.”
The director tells this story in hopes that younger and future PMs will put in the time and effort to make sure they’re prepared for their roles. So often, the advice goes, “You’re ready for it—you just don’t have the self-confidence.” But Tirheimer’s case was different. He thought he was ready, and he wasn’t.
“You cannot enter a situation thinking you are the fountain of knowledge,” Tirheimer says. “Be ready to learn. Have the self-confidence that is backed up by the work you’ve put in to prepare. Learn all you can and be ready to learn every single day you’re on the job.”
If you want to be part of Tirheimer’s team now, there’s a phrase you might want to mention in your interview: “The truth will set you free.” This philosophy is a big deal for the director.
“We were opening a store every 48 hours of that entire [first quarter of 2024].”
Wally Tirheimer
There is simply no point in promising something you can’t deliver. It will invariably come back to haunt you, your team, and your client. Tirheimer can open his computer and access the views of 70 different building sites in a matter of seconds. There is absolutely nothing to be gained by making empty promises or excuses. Open, honest, and clear communication leads to quicker issue resolution.
Take the advice of a man who seems capable of building well into his 90s: Be true, be open, and just say yes.
Armet Davis Newlove Architects Inc. (ADN Architects) are proud to have worked with Wally Tirheimer and Dutch Bros over the past five years and counting. Wally’s leadership and more importantly, his friendship, are what truly make it a pleasure to be part of his team and a partner with Dutch Bros as a whole. Since our start with Dutch Bros in mid-2019, ADN Architects has completed 120 stores to date with many more to come!
