Property agents Cooke & Arkwright have acted on behalf of a franchisee from Swansea to find and negotiate the terms on three new Starbucks Drive-Thru locations across South Wales, all of which will be open by the end of the year.
The first 1,800 sq. ft outlet opened in Bridgend’s Waterton Retail Park on the 31st July, with a second, slightly larger 2,000 sq ft premises opening on Swansea’s Fabian Way in October. At the end of the year, a third 1,800 sq. ft site will open on Cardiff’s Newport Road. Each of the new locations will open seven days a week until 10pm and up to 110 new jobs will be created in total.
All three sites will be managed and operated by The Magic Bean co, a company owned by Swansea-based Leon Esfahani who started out as a franchisee for O2 and Pizza Hut. Leon is the franchisee for South Wales and the West Midlands for Starbucks and already operates a number of other premises for the Seattle-based coffee company including Cwmbran and Oxford Street, Swansea.
Associate Director at Cooke & Arkwright, Nick Golunski, said: “The UK’s first 24 hour Starbucks drive-thru opened on Dunleavy Drive in Cardiff back in 2008, and at that time, it was a totally new concept. Since then, this concept has proved very successful and has become a model for business growth.
“We’re pleased to have been able to find three suitable premises for the local franchisee to grow his business and enables Starbucks to expand their drive-thru offering in South Wales. Each location is positioned to attract both commuters on their daily routes to and from work, and also casual shoppers and passers-by who have the time to stop for a little longer, so we’re confident that these new premises will do very well.”
Leon Esfahani, The Magic Bean Company Ltd said: “We’re excited to be opening three new Starbucks in South Wales especially as the drive thru was a new concept for us – we’re looking forward to bringing the coffee shop experience directly to our customers in a convenient and more accessible format and giving commuters the opportunity of having a coffee without getting out of their car on the way to work– something that we’re sure will be very popular.”
Emanuel Jones and Morgan Williams acted on behalf of the Landlords in Swansea and Bridgend respectively.