According to this article in the Oroville Mercury-Register, the Enterprise Zone played a significant role in bringing quality coffee to Oroville:

OROVILLE — A long line of cars and a small sea of pedestrians could be seen from Oro Dam Boulevard Friday morning, as customers flocked to Dutch Bros Coffee for its grand opening.

The franchise drive-thru coffee shop officially opened Dec. 19, with Friday serving as the grand opening celebration.

To honor the coffee shop’s first and only location in Oroville, owner Bob Fulton offered a free 16-ounce drink to all customers.

At 10:30 a.m. anywhere from 10-15 cars were in line for coffee at a time, with about 20 people waiting for drinks at the shop’s walk-up window.

“It’s been like this since 5 a.m. When we opened there was already a line of cars,” Fulton said. “We’re probably going to see about 5,000 people today.”

Barista Lisa Long joked that the number was much higher.

“Oh my gosh, I’ve probably already talked to a million people,” Long said, when asked how many customers she had served.

Long works at Fulton’s Dutch Bros in Orland and came to work in Oroville Friday to celebrate the opening of Fulton’s second Dutch Bros and manage the crowds.

Along with taking drink orders, Long served up a huge smile to those waiting for their coffee, and chatted with them about their plans for the day.

“I have an amazing job,” Long said. “I don’t even feel like I’m going to work.”

Long’s energy, and that of her fellow employees is what Dutch Bros is known for, Fulton said.

A native of Portland, Ore., Fulton moved to Chico a few years ago after spending his career in construction.

He said he missed the high energy and positive attitude he experienced from baristas in Oregon, where Dutch Bros was originally founded more than 15 years ago. So he looked into bringing the business into Chico’s outlying areas, since Chico already has two Dutch Bros.

“I just bought into the culture of making someone’s day that Dutch Bros is known for,” Fulton said.

After nearly a year of searching for an ideal location to build the Dutch Bros, Fulton decided on an area in Gold Town Plaza.

City of Oroville Enterprise Zone and Business Assistance Coordinator Rick Farley said the piece of land Fulton built on was ideal for the coffee stop, saying the spot may have otherwise gone undeveloped if Fulton hadn’t come in.

“It’s a pretty difficult spot to develop,” Farley said, adding that the unique shape and billboard on the lot presented challenging circumstances.

“[Fulton] used a piece of property that didn’t really lend itself to anything else and will hopefully help attract more customers to the other businesses in the center. The more traffic, the more successful those other businesses will be.”

The new business also generated 10 new jobs in Oroville and the city will receive one percent of Fulton’s tax revenue, Farley said.

“This is exactly what we are trying to do,” Farley said. “With them coming in, we are creating more jobs and more revenue for the City of Oroville.”

Although the business venture may be risky for Fulton, especially in a time of economic peril, he remained positive about his business and the longevity of the Dutch Bros company.

“Company-wide we have been pretty constant,” Fulton said. “The big guys might be down, but our price point is much less. All our additives are free and we have the largest selection of sugar-free flavors around.”

Dave Morris, Dutch Bros Coffee vice president of marketing, reaffirmed Fulton’s claim, stating the company is even seeing growth in many of its stores.

“On average, same store sales are up with sales climbing as high as 25 percent in some of the newer markets. We are very happy with our growth in lieu of the economic downturn and appreciate the support of the communities we are in,” Morris said.

Oroville’s Dutch Bros had the support of customers Friday, with patrons facing the long lines for a free mocha or smoothie.

Drive-thru customers Vicki and Melissa Decastro said they waited in line for about 15 minutes to get a free Milky Way mocha.

“This is really cool,” Vicki Decastro, a first-time Dutch Bros customer said. “It’s pretty exciting for Oroville.”

Fulton said serving Oroville is what the newly-constructed Dutch Bros is all about, and when it comes to him and his employees, the customer is always the main priority.

“This really is about the community. Dutch Bros isn’t a corporate deal. They are about local owners and local people and about making the people in the community feel special, even if they are just getting a cup of coffee,” Fulton said.