Bewiched throws open its doors to new £400k Wellingborough drive-thru as locally-owned coffee firm continues to thrive

The new outlet will hold its official opening event tomorrow, but today customers have been treated to a sneak peak as the cafe held a soft-launch.

It’s the company’s second drive-thru store – its first opened in Northampton in 2021. The Bewiched team opened their first coffee shop in Wellingborough in 2010 and now they have 17 locations across the midlands.

Founder Matt Fountain says business has never been better.

He told the Northants Telegraph: “Our existing Drive-Thru in Moulton Park is trading incredibly well, thanks to a fantastic team delivering exceptional service. In fact, we believe it’s the highest-rated drive-thru coffee offer on Google in the UK.”

He said that the income from that store is split about 50/50 between dine-in and the drive-thru lane, on average they serve about 250 cars each day.

He added: “As a business, we’re seeing double-digit like-for-like growth in both revenue and transactions, which is also reflected at the existing drive-thru.

“On top of this, we have just surpassed 40,000 Bewiched app users, with around 300 new sign-ups and £3000 worth of loyalty redemptions every week.”

Matt’s now hoping to repeat the success at drive-thru number two, a 1,850-square-foot site at Glenvale Park, Wellingborough.

He said: “This store will also roast its own coffee during the first part of 2025, and we have invested £400k into cutting edge equipment and a high end refit. Much like Moulton Park, this will look and feel very different to the current market leaders versions of this format.

“Costa and Starbucks dominate this sector in the UK, but we’re excited to go head-to-head with them in future locations and we definitely sense an appetite for something different in this part of the sector.

"Our proposition is unique in the sense that the coffee will be the freshest roast and highest quality you can get in a drive-thru lane in the UK, but we then also have a very strong sub-branded cold drinks offer.

“Located on a busier road just a mile from a Starbucks drive-thru, this will be the first time an existing branded drive-thru coffee operator encounters an independent competitor in the UK. I am genuinely fascinated to see how this plays out.

“Our team have had the advantage of training at our existing drive-thru, which obviously wasn't available to us the first time around. Operating two revenue streams in one site is not easy, so we are working hard to set the them up for success.”

Matt also says that the firm is aiming to open its third drive-thru next year as well as continuing their strategy of opening four or five new stores each year.

He added: “Behind this we are building and using a virtual head office currently pulling through 20,000+ automations per month.

"The automation of data and dashboards has been a real game changer for us. It also allows our front line senior operations team to spend lots more time in store and not have that added distraction of a HQ.

"Many people have said to me that at some point that head office capacity and location will become a necessity. We will have to wait and see. But obviously I don’t share that opinion.

“With all the acquisition news in the specialty coffee sector, it is an exciting time to be a part of it all. It also demonstrates how robust the coffee sector is in the UK. All happening in what is probably the most competitive coffee market in the world, and certainly in Europe.”