Cafes and Coffee Shops

The Cafes and Coffee Shops section on Catering Today explores the trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the UK’s vibrant café and coffee sector. Covering independent operators, branded chains, and suppliers, it reports on store openings, menu innovation, sustainability initiatives, and shifts in consumer behaviour. With insights into operations, staffing, and technology, Catering Today provides hospitality professionals with up-to-date intelligence on the business strategies and market forces driving success in coffee-led hospitality.

Jan- 2024 -

23 January

Creams Cafe reveals record festive trading

Creams Cafe has announced that it saw record trading over the festive period with like-for-like in-cafe sales up 5.8% in December against the same period in 2022. The company also revealed that its delivery sales experienced an uplift with an increase in sales of 2.5%. The year-on-year growth comes following…
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19 January

Lexington and Fat Macy’s launch new café

Corporate contract caterer Lexington Catering has recently launched a dedicated café space at one of its client sites in partnership with social enterprise Fat Macy’s. Fat Macy’s is a social enterprise that aims to get Londoners out of hostels and into their own homes. Fat Macy’s provides a structured opportunity…
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16 January

Cooks Coffee sales rise 15.8% across UK&I in 2023

Cooks Coffee has experienced a 15.8% rise in sales to $53.8m (£26.9m) across the UK and Ireland for the year ended 31 December 2023. The news comes as, within the UK, store sales rose by 18.6% to reach $35m (£17.5m) compared with the same period last year, while in Ireland…
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12 January

Workshop Coffee appoints new chairman

Workshop Coffee has announced the appointment of David Read as the company’s chairman. Read is joining the board of directors with over 50 years of experience in the food, drink and hospitality industry. The news follows a recent run of B2B new business wins that include The Langham, 1 Hotel…
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3 January

Black Sheep Coffee FY turnover doubles to £21.3m

Coffee shop chain Black Sheep Coffee has revealed that turnover doubled to £21.3m during the year ending 31 December 2022, up from £10.7m a year prior. At the year end, the group had net assets of £33.7m compared with £4.9m in 2021. During 2022, Black Sheep Coffee opened a total…
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Dec- 2023 -

20 December

Lavazza to relaunch flagship site in London

Lavazza is set to relaunch a renovated flagship site in central London, inspired by the first site based in Milan. Situated in a historical building opposite the Liberty store on Great Marlborough Street, Lavazza has “engaged with renowned names, from design to gastronomy”, to transform the site. The newly renovated…
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Nov- 2023 -

24 November

SSP launches Café Local

SSP has launched a new travel-focused café and retail store concept called Café Local, which has been developed for UK regional rail stations. The first 15 Café Local stores have opened at stations around the country, including Fratton, Exeter, Reading, Dover and Sheffield, and the flagship store has recently opened…
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23 November

Ole and Steen appoints new CEO

Ole and Steen – known as Lagkagehuset in Denmark – has announced the appointment of Joachim Knudsen as its new CEO, effective from 1 January 2024. Knudsen, who succeeds Jason Cotta, joins the bakery chain from a previous role as managing director of McDonald’s Sweden and Denmark. Over the past…
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13 November

Loungers roll-out continues with four new sites

Loungers, a UK-based café, bar and restaurant operator under the Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside brands, has revealed that its accelerated site roll-out plan remains firmly on track, with the launch of four new sites since it announced its landmark 200th Lounge opening on 13 September 2023. The three new…
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6 November

Finca to open sixth site in Glastonbury

Coffee shop company Finca will be opening its sixth location in Glastonbury on Market Street, in the New Year. The new Finca opening will sit in the original location of “fashionable” artisan coffee shop Mocha Berry, which first opened in 1959. Finca established the first specialty coffee shop and roaster…
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