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20 barista magazine F O A M : N E W S A WASHINGTON LEGEND: DILLANOS AND THE MAGIC 22 MOST COMPANIES RALLY around the 10- or 20-year anni- versary benchmark, but at Dillanos Coffee Roasters, things have always been a little bit different. "Twenty-two is part of our culture and company number," says David Morris, who with co-owners Howard and Chris Heyer, celebrated Dillanos' 22nd anniversary in January. "Chris was born on 2/22, and when I was young, my favorite basketball player was Philadelphia 76ers Andrew Toney #22. Before anyone is hired at Dillanos they have to answer a 22-question application. Twenty-two is also the number of letters in Dillanos Coffee Roasters." The Dillanos team—now 70 strong and roasting 220,000 pounds of coffee per month out of its 50,000-square-foot roastery and warehouse in Sumner, Wash.—is so fanatical about its lucky number that a #22 Dillanos coin has been minted. "The coin has our company logo and core values on one side, and a 22 on the other," says Chris. "We award this coin to recognize employees [for doing] something great. The employees can either keep the coin—most do—or turn it in to the finance department for $22." Auspicious numbers aside, Dillanos has always acted the way families do: They support each other, prank each other, and suc- ceed together. Company leadership has put strong emphasis on humanitarianism even outside of the coffee realm. For example, the Dillanos Family Relief Foundation is an in-house charitable establishment that provides grants to employees going through hardships. It's entirely company funded. To commemorate great service, Dillanos hosts the annual Dilly Awards, which David describes as "Dillanos' own version of the Oscars meets the MTV Music Awards," wherein employees are awarded for outstanding work and dedication. The focus on the people who make Dillanos what it is today extends all the way from Sumner staff to wholesale accounts (a whopping 1,600 and counting), to the people responsible for Dillanos core product: producers. "We feel we can't fully realize the needs of our customers without showing the same respect to the incredible people who produce the coffees we roast," says Chris. "We put a lot of time and resources into creating direct relationships with the coffee farmers we work with; these coffee farmers are people whose values and attention to quality parallel ours." Enter Dillanos' One Harvest Project. "We use this program to source amazing coffees, and focus on sustainability and qual- ity with an emphasis on taking their stories of resilience and creativity to our customers. The stories of these farmers and the amazing work that they do adds value to our product and benefits the entire supply chain," says Dillanos' director of coffee Phil Beattie. This isn't the kind of company to rest on its laurels after one success, however: Dillanos is excited to debut the DCR lines of coffees this month, which consist of "our most exceptional, meticulously sourced coffees," says David. (Check these coffees out at Dillanos' booth #1027, at the Specialty Coffee Association At top: Even a er 22 years, Dillanos co-owners Chris Heyer (le ) and David Morris (right) get in on the daily cupping action with the company's director of coffee, Phil Beaie (center), as oen as they can. Middle photo: Part of the reason Dillanos' roasting and buying team has been so consistently successful over the years is the longevity of employment of key personnel, including Phil (right) and Bjorn Dhaese, in an old company photo. Boom photo: David (le) and Chris exhibit Dillanos Coffee at an early Coffee Fest trade show. Dillanos was named for David's son, Dillon. B o o k 1 - 4 4 . i n d d 2 0 Book 1-44.indd 20 3 / 1 9 / 1 4 9 : 5 1 P M 3/19/14 9:51 PM