WatchHouse coffee to double in size to 12 this year

08-Apr-2021 - Last updated on 26-Apr-2021 at 16:41 GMT

Upscale London coffee brand WatchHouse is to open five new sites in the capital as well as its first site outside of London, in Bath, taking its total number of sites to 12 before the year is out.

The expansion will be overseen by CEO and founder Roland Horne, who recently hired former Pret A Manger UK managing director Andrew Walker as non-executive director.

Horne is hoping to ‘redefine the multi-site model’ with the future openings to be ‘as thoughtfully designed and sustainably sourced as the original site in Bermondsey Street,’ which opened in 2014.

WatchHouse combines artisanal coffee with a high quality breakfast, brunch and lunch-focused food offering, with larger sites offering a full in house-produced menu and smaller sites offering grab-and-go.

WatchHouse’s first opening of 2021 launches on 19 April and will be its largest yet. Based in the Foggo-designed 70 St Mary Axe Tower, AKA the Can of Ham, in the City, the 3,900 sq ft site will seat 70 guests over three floors within ‘carefully curated spaces’ for groups or individuals alongside an outdoor terrace for 30.

Created by WatchHouse’s design team - which is headed by former Aesop and Cubitts designer Deidra Hodgson - the design takes inspiration from the Can of Ham building itself, integrating state of the art brewing technology to include a custom brewbar and acid washed ModBar, within a twelve meter long brushed stainless steel curved counter with suspended monolithic canopy arch.

Following the opening of 70 St Mary’s Axe, WatchHouse will then open sites in Bishopsgate, Marylebone and two sites in Covent Garden within the next six months.

WatchHouse Bishopsgate will open in July, offering a grab-and-go service five days a week pitched at those returning to the office.

The opening of WatchHouse Seven Dials, in August, will be the first time the company expands into the centre of London.

This will be followed by the arrival of two more sites in central London, with WatchHouse Marylebone and WatchHouse Covent Garden both opening in the autumn.

WatchHouse will open its first site outside London in the heart of Bath’s central conservation area in autumn 2021.

WatchHouse has used the last year to significantly expand across all areas of the business, including the development and opening of its own roastery and central production units, which between them make the majority of products sold within the Houses.

“I’ve been incredibly proud of the resilience and long-term mindset of the WatchHouse team throughout the challenges of Covid-19. To have been able to use this time to take all of our coffee roasting and food production fully in-house has been game changing and sets us up to scale the WatchHouse estate with even greater consistency,” says Horne.

“We look forward to bringing the Modern Coffee experience to many more communities in London and beyond, as well as continuing to drive our WatchHouse.YourHouse. subscriptions at scale. This rapid expansion is a huge testament to the best-in-class WatchHouse team.”

A full interview with Horne will be published later this month.