In three decades spent working in our roasting facilities, Dave Seymour has seen a lot.
He began his career with us on September 9, 1982 – also Howard Schultz’s first day on the job – and has tackled a variety of responsibilities, from grinding coffee and packaging it by hand, to shipping and distribution, to leading tours of our Kent, Wash., roasting plant (which he still does today). Dave remembers the early days fondly: “We didn’t have people do just one job back then. There were only a little more than 100 employees, including those in our stores. Each of us did everything that needed to be done.”
So much has changed over the years, but some things have stayed, happily, constant. Dave’s presence, for one, and the heart of the little coffee business he joined all those years ago, for another. As Dave puts it, “Even though we’ve grown bigger as a company, we’ve always stayed true to our values, treating one another with respect and dignity and upholding our commitment to quality.”
