Coffee shop Bewiched goes back to its roots with Northampton drive-thru site

Moulton Park unit set to open next month a mile from founder's old school
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Two former Moulton School students are about to open what they believe is the UK’s first purpose-built independent coffee drive-thru — just a mile-or-so from their old classrooms.

Fitting out work on Bewiched Coffee's new unit at Moulton Park is under way ahead of the big opening in next month.

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Matt Fountain, founder and MD at Bewiched, and operations manager, Richard Wagg, opened their first store in Wellingborough just 10 years ago and now have 11 sites across Northamptonshire, Peterborough and into Cambridgeshire.

The new Bewiched drive-thru at Moulton Park is ready for fitting outThe new Bewiched drive-thru at Moulton Park is ready for fitting out
The new Bewiched drive-thru at Moulton Park is ready for fitting out

Matt said: "This will be the first purpose-built independent coffee drive-thru — that we know of!

"Since starting this business in 2010, I have had a dream to open a drive-thru, but obviously you have to get past the likes of Costa and Starbucks first or find a site that they are not interested in.

"Realising this dream is an amazing feeling. I am also very pleased to have already secured another drive-thru site that will open next year in the Wellingborough area and we are in negotiations on two more locally.

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"To get a new-build drive-thru open, we have had to build a business which holds up to financial scrutiny from developers, who in turn often have to raise funds to finance the building project. So I am very proud that our business, has the strength of covenant to pass those tests.

The Bewiched family outside their Rushden Lakes coffee shopThe Bewiched family outside their Rushden Lakes coffee shop
The Bewiched family outside their Rushden Lakes coffee shop

"That is not to say that we do not also have ambitions to open more ‘inline’ units in town centres as well, we will continue to focus on those projects too, alongside investing back into our current sites & looking to improve the offer to our team."

"And, on a personal note for both us, we both went to Moulton School — so this is great to be opening a UK first so close to our roots."

The Moulton Park unit will have 55 seats plus all the drive-thru technology.

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Bewiched was born in December 2010 when Matt ploughed redundancy money into starting a little coffee shop in Church Street, Wellingborough.

They now have locations at Northampton, Corby, Kettering, Rushden Lakes, Burton Latimer, Higham Ferrers, Rothwell and at Wellingborough train station.