Bob & Berts employs 26 staff with opening of new Cookstown store

Founded in Portstewart in 2013 by Colin McClean, Bob & Berts is known for its distinctive style, quality offering and local community focused approach. The business currently has 15 stores across Northern Ireland.

The company has now invested £250,000 to transform a former restaurant unit on Church Street in Cookstown into a new store reflective of Bob & Berts unique brand and style. The new store, which is open from 8am to 9pm seven days a week, will employ 26 staff in the town.

Bob & Berts has also revealed that it intends to open between eight and ten new stores this year, with a particular focus on England, where its recently opened coffee shops have performed ahead of expectations. It’s fourth store in the north of England will open in Bury, Manchester at the end of April, with a sixth Scottish store set to open in Perth in May.

Colin McClean, Founder of Bob & Berts, said: “We are really delighted to be opening in Cookstown and to be bringing our simple commitment to serving customers proper coffee and great grub to customers in one of Northern Ireland’s most vibrant market towns. We carefully select each of our coffee shop locations and we’re confident the people of Cookstown will love what we have to offer at Bob & Berts.

“The strength of our brand and confidence in it is reflected in the fact that the business has successfully opened four new stores during the Covid-19 pandemic, all of which have performed better than our original forecasts.”

Bob & Berts has built a strong reputation for supplying high quality, artisan coffee, with 100% arabica beans that are slow batch hand-roasted in Northern Ireland. Combined with a distinctive relaxed style and an extensive hot food offering, the brand has built up a wide and very loyal customer base that continues to grow.

David Ferguson, co-owner of Bob & Berts, said: “We have been blown away by how the Bob & Berts brand and our offering has been received in each of the locations where we’ve opened in the last couple of years, which have obviously been challenging for all hospitality businesses. We are entering a new phase of growth and very much focused on expanding our brand right across the UK.

He added: “Customers have already responded really positively to the new Cookstown store. Since Colin first set up Bob & Berts, we have aimed to offer something different to large multi-national coffee chains. Our branding, food selection and interior design sets us apart from our competition and we believe that we have created an environment which encourages people to relax. As we continue to expand across Northern Ireland, Scotland and England, all of our new coffee shops are being created with this culture in mind.”