Esquires, the Canadian coffee shop franchise, has lined up a further four UK sites for early 2018, MCA has learnt.
The new stores, set to open in Bournemouth, Putney, Tunbridge Wells and Canterbury, will bring the UK business up to 35, with a further five or six planned for 2018.
It follows three new stores in Liverpool, Hanley and Yate that have either opened or are closed to opening.
The brand is also developing its food offer, and is currently trialling traditional pizza at a number of stores, as well as brunch and vegan options, with a potential rollout in 2018.
Marketing manager Lorenza told MCA the brand, which is led in the UK by Doug Williams, will also look to introduce recyclable and compostable straws, cups and cutlery in 2018.
She said: “We strive to be local coffee shop, so our offer depends on the neighbourhood.
“Pizza might work in some place and not others. We are a franchise, there are standards, but the offer we have in every shop is customised.
“In student areas there’s more of a call for vegan food, but others are a lot more traditional.
“That’s one of our strengths – we want to think look and act like a local coffee shop.
“We don’t want to be High Street coffee shop, we want to be the neighbourhood coffee shop.”
