A Brooklyn-born coffee chain has revealed plans to launch its first coffee shop in the North. Following a year of TikTok-viral drinks and celeb visitors including Molly-Mae, Blank Street Coffee has now set its sights on Manchester city centre as the next place to bring its specialty-grade coffee to.
Having taken London by storm since launching it's first stores in the UK last year, the trendy coffee concept will be opening its first store on Piccadilly Gardens in just a few weeks time. It will officially open its doors on Wednesday, 13 December.
To mark the launch, Blank Street will be offering Mancunians an exclusive in-store buy-one-get-on-free offer to mark its opening. Between 15-17 December, visitors will be able to reclaim the treat and try out its new winter menu which includes specials such as the Candy Cane Cold Brew and Chocolate Orange Mocha.
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Founded by Issam Freiha and Vinay Menda in 2020, there are already more than 40 Blank Street locations in New York City, plus outposts in Boston, Washington D.C., and London. As well as the usual espressos, oat milk flat whites and cappuccinos, there will be a range of iced drinks like strawberries and cream, plus pistachio lattes and lemonades.
Speaking about the Northern launch with the Manchester Evening News, Ignacio Llado, UK Managing Director at Blank Street said: "We can’t wait to be opening up in Manchester. We set our sights here because it’s a buzzing city full of culture, and we’ve been receiving a lot of comments and messages on social media from fans asking us to bring our coffee to their city.
"For us, that’s really the key. We want to go where there is customer demand. Manchester was somewhere we had seen countless requests for a Blank Street, and we’re excited that we can finally give our Manchester fans what they asked for, continuing our mission of making your daily coffee ritual a fun and meaningful experience."
Starting off as a small, electric-powered coffee cart in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Williamsburg in August 2020, Blank Street has rapidly grown in a short space of time. Last year it crossed the Atlantic and opened its first location in London in 2022.
Fast forward to today and their now famous green-and-white-fronted stores can be found in more than 17 locations across the capital. Seeking to set itself apart from other coffee chains, Blank Street's offer includes an entire cold brew menu encompassing original pours, cortado variations, and even a shaken brown sugar cold brew topped with a sprinkling of cinnamon.
"The main coffee chains in the UK have remained fairly unchanged over the last decade," says Ignacio. "We’re on a journey to redefine what it means to be a coffee chain, and to raise the bar for consumers.
"Take our Blueberry Matcha for example, which has gone viral on TikTok, with the hashtag already amassing millions of views. This was our recent take on the traditional Matcha - a drink which is but often perceived as inaccessible, specially to the non-traditional matcha drinker. We gave it our own spin and, today, it’s amongst our most popular items on the menu.
"The same philosophy applies to our current winter menu - which features nostalgic classics like the Chocolate Orange Mocha and Candy Cane Cold Brew. We love Cold Brew at Blank Street by the way and think it could be the next big coffee revolution in the UK, but that’s a whole new conversation."
Speaking to Ignacio, it also seems that Manchester will be the first in a number of Blank Street Coffee shops to open over the next year. "We are looking to add more stores to the Blank Street family next year as we very much believe that UK high streets are back," he reveals.
"They are continuously growing and evolving, and we see a huge opportunity for Blank Street to be a part of this change. We have seen great demand from customers and landlords alike to open up more stores, so we will be looking at where next for us.
"By having more stores, we are able to unlock a frictionless experience for more customers, bringing the convenience that comes with more scale. However, as we look to the future of Blank Street, we want to ensure that each store retains the Blank Street magic and we are hyper focussed on maintaining that.
"We’re excited for Blank Street’s next chapter following our first opening in Manchester - and for what 2024 and beyond has in store."
Blank Street’s first store in Manchester will be open from 6:30am on Wednesday, 13 December in Piccadilly Gardens, M1 4AH.
