The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was founded in Southern California in 1963. It now operates 311 US locations and more than 1,200 worldwide, most of which are in Asia.
New York will be the fourteenth state for the brand. The 100 shops will be opened throughout the next ten years across NYC with the first few landing in Manhattan later this year.
Hudson River Coffee & Tea is the new franchisee of operators, developers and real estate experts bringing the company back to New York. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf previously had 12 locations in NYC through a different franchisee that were all shuttered in October 2016.
“New York has always been an important market for us. Hudson River Coffee & Tea’s successful track record and expertise in real estate development makes it the ideal franchisee to bring The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to coffee and tea-loving New York City,” said JJ Smith, vice president of franchise operations & business development at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
NYC is a tough market for coffee and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will have to compete with industry giants like Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Peet’s Coffee and Pret A Manger for customers.
But the brand is optimistic about the market, citing a recent poll from the Siena College Research Institute that revealed 62% of New Yorkers drink coffee every day, and 60% of those coffee drinkers have more than one cup each day.