Quality Coffee, CARING COMMUNITY

Locally owned Dunn Brothers locations are a cozy place to connect

By Alicia Underlee Nelson

Photography by Nate Mickelberg Images

Fat white snowflakes fall lazily outside the windows, but it’s a cozy scene inside the Dunn Brothers on 45th Street in Fargo. The regulars chat around the fire, a small group of students studies in the corner and the aroma of freshly roasted coffee fills the air.

The drive-through is busy and the employees glide from station to station, making sandwiches and pouring drinks for a steady stream of regulars both inside and out. Owner Meghann Poku stands near the counter, in the middle of the action, and greets customers by name as her tiny son slumbers, oblivious, in her arms.

Poku and her husband Isaac bought their first Dunn Brothers franchise in 2007 after she visited the Dunn Brothers location in

Rochester, Minnesota and “fell in love with their quality, service and business model.”

The Pokus now operate two locations in Fargo – the 45th Street store and the location at the corner of 25th Street and 13th Avenue South.

Most Dunn Brothers franchises are owneroperated and the Fargo locations are no exception. Poku said that connecting with her customers helps create a welcoming community within the four walls of her coffee shops.

“Coffeehouses remain―as they always have―a place for relationship building, whether business or personal,” she said. “ People use places like Dunn Brothers to meet up, do their business and of course get a wonderful cup of coffee.”

The staff takes every step in the coffee making process seriously. Because Dunn Brothers stores source their beans directly from the farmers who grow them, the owner operators are intimately connected with people who supply their product.

“Not only do we know what farm this comes from,” said manager Amanda Wood as she pointed out beans from different regions, “we know when it comes out of the ground.”

The Pokus have visited the farms in Costa Rica and El Salvador that supply their coffee beans, an experience that gives them a unique perspective and a deeper connection with the product they sell. Once the beans are sourced, it’s on to the next step.

“We fresh roast in our store,” said Poku. “So not only does it smell amazing while we're roasting, but the freshness of flavor cannot be matched.”

The freshly roasted beans are big sellers locally. “A typical Dunn Brothers customer knows their coffee. They can taste if we roast a bean too long, or if a bean is from a new farm,” said Poku. ”People love that they can come in and buy fresh roasted coffee, that they can pick out their bean, learn about where it comes from and have it scooped in front of them.”

But just because the staff and patrons at Dunn Brothers are passionate about the quality of their product doesn’t mean they’re coffee snobs. The staff loves to help fledgling coffee drinkers discover their new favorite drink and the shops sell a variety of other beverages―including teas, smoothies and hot chocolate―for customers who want to try a little of everything. And the warm, comfortable atmosphere makes the Dunn Brothers locations in Fargo favorite spots for business meetings, study groups and Bible studies.

And now they’ve expanded their food selection to include hearty breakfast sandwiches, savory lunch options like a Turkey BLT or Chicken Salad with Roasted Almonds and freshly prepared bakery items for customers with a sweet tooth. All items are made fresh daily at the 45th Street location and the baked goods are held to the same standard of quality and freshness as the coffee beans they serve.

The regulars say it’s the combination of quality food and beverages and the atmosphere that keep them coming back.

“I like the comfortable seats by the fireplace,” said Jim Wieland, a Fargo resident and Dunn Brothers regular. “And the people are very good, very personable.”

James Kuebler agrees. “It’s a quiet, comfortable, homey feeling,” he said.

If she could hear them, Meghann Poku would be smiling. After all, that’s exactly what she was going for. [AWM]