Caffè Nero, the Gerry Ford-led chain, plans to opens three customised stores at Heathrow Terminal 2: The Queen’s Terminal, next June 2014.
The biggest of the three cafes will be located in arrivals, and will feature a number of artisanal food products in a Farmers Market format and house a coffee roasting room.
There will also be specifically designed areas to address different customers’ needs ranging from comfortable family-friendly private booths to a business hub catering for work in transit.
The group will be opening two units in arrivals and one airside. The total size for the three units will be over 11,500sq ft offering over 350 covers, the largest amount of space awarded to a food and beverage brand at Terminal 2.
As part of the company’s national music programme which supports up-and-coming artists, a stage will be a permanent feature of the cafe from which musicians will perform regularly for visitors.
To reflect Caffè Nero’s European heritage, an authentic Piaggio scooter will stand at the Farmer’s Market entrance, and adjacent will be interactive touch screens that showcase Caffè Nero’s menu in a variety of languages.
In Terminal 2’s airside satellite, alongside Caffè Nero’s gourmet espresso based coffee, as a UK airport first, passengers will be able to enjoy deli-style food, Italian Prosecco, Italian wines and Italian beers.
There will also be several new design features used in the cafe including traditional wooden workbenches and authentic bespoke counters that will display deli-style Italian inspired food.
Ford, chairman and founder, said: “From handcrafted and locally roasted award-winning coffee to deli-style, Italian influenced food, our aim is to bring premium Italian products with provenance to the customer – to taste there or take away from the airport.”
Muriel Zingraff-Shariff, Heathrow’s retail director said: “We set the bar high for retailers wishing to join Terminal 2. Caffè Nero has exceeded our expectations with innovative concepts that put the theatre of coffee and Italian culture at the heart of the experience for passengers.”
