Sorenson and his employees visited coffee farms in person and reportedly paid high prices for beans, occasionally three or four times the
fair trade price.[7] He once set the record for highest price ever paid for coffee beans.[8][9][10]
Sorenson also offered atypical perks to his employees such as paying for a compilation album to be produced of their various bands,[11] and hiring a full-time on-staff massage therapist.[12] Stumptown has received numerous awards, including Roaster of the Year 2006.[12]
In 2015, Stumptown Coffee Roasters was bought by Peet's Coffee for an undisclosed amount.[3]
Locations
Stumptown operates five cafes in Portland. They are located on SE 45th & Division St., SE 34th & Belmont, downtown at SW 3rd & Ash St., inside the
Ace Hotel at 1022 SW
Stark Street, and at the Portland International Airport. The company also owns a roasting facility and a retail annex inside their headquarters at 100 SE Salmon St. The original location on SE Division was previously a hair salon called "The Hair Bender," whose name Stumptown adopted for one of their signature espresso blends.[13]
In November 2007, Stumptown opened two cafes in Seattle.[14] In September 2009, the company also launched a cafe in New York's Ace Hotel.[15] A temporary "pop-up" location appeared in Amsterdam's De Pijp neighborhood in May 2010. Opened by Sorenson, he claimed it was never intended to be permanent and closed its doors that same year.[16]
In 2013, Stumptown opened a second New York City café and a café/roaster in Los Angeles.[17] In January 2014, the company began selling coffee, pre-mixed with milk, in grocery stores.[18] Additional cafes have also opened in Chicago and New Orleans. Stumptown opened their third New York cafe in a historic Brooklyn firehouse in the summer of 2018.[19]