THE owner of independent local coffee chain Bob & Berts says the brand could move into the English market in the near future as ambitious expansion plans continue at pace.
Colin McClean, who founded Bob & Berts in Portstewart in 2013 with his father Arnold and brother-in-law David Ferguson, said the business has looked at opening a possible store in Carlisle, which could lead to further outlets in northern England and beyond.
Last August the firm announced it is to open 30 new stores across Ireland and Scotland over four years, thanks to £2 million funding from UK investors BGF (Business Growth Fund).
The expansion has already begun, with a number of new restaurants opening this year in Northern Ireland, bringing the total to 17.
This includes the brand's first restaurant in Belfast city centre at Fountain Street, next door to Tim Hortons.
Mr McClean said it was always a dream to open in the centre of Belfast and believes the local brand can more than hold its own against the Canadian heavyweight.
"On one hand it's actually quite good Tim Hortons has opened up on Fountain Street as it will certainly bring more people to the area so we're happy with that.
"Obviously it's competition, because they do coffee and so do we, but our offering is very different. Where they've gone for the whole donuts, quick service restaurant offering, we've gone for a different approach."
At present the company is focused on its expansion into the Scottish market, with 10 stores due to open by next year, including a site in Glasgow city centre, but a future move into the lucrative English market appears on the cards.
"We should have five (Scotland stores) open by December and the other five by August of next year," he said.
"We're focused on Scotland and those 30 stores, but we were in Dumfries two weeks ago and it crossed our minds Carlisle is only 20 miles away so we went in there and had a look to see what was happening. We may end up doing a store there due to the close proximity. The focus is the roll out into Scotland, then potentially northern England and further afield.
"We've managed to get our supply chain right, all our bakery stuff is made in Belfast and bespoke to Bob & Berts and that's delivered by Lynas Foodservice to all our stores the next day. So we've got the production, we've got the wheels so we can kind of go anywhere Lynas are."
As for closer to home a further four stores in the north remain in the pipeline at Magherafelt, Enniskillen, Banbridge and Newry, which could create up to 150 jobs, while the company is initially targeting border towns as part of its move into the Republic.
"We've agreed Magherafelt. It's currently in planning and we hope to have it open around August time. We did have a site in Enniskillen, but unfortunately we were outbid on it, so we're back to square one there, while we're focused on looking at Newry next month. It's busy times."
