Companies

Java coffee chain to spend Sh100m on new branches

java

Java House kimathi Street, Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Local coffee chain Java House is set to spend Sh100 million on opening two new branches in Nairobi and Mombasa in the next three weeks.

Java has booked space at Astrol Petrol station on Lenana Road in Nairobi and at Diani Centre Point, formerly Nakumatt building, on the Diani Beach Road in Mombasa.

The Diani Centre Point branch will be the first Java House outlet in Kwale while the Astrol Petrol Station branch will be the 41st in Nairobi.

“We will be opening one more branch in Kilimani area at Astrol Petrol Station just along the Lenana Road and at Diani Centre Point in Kwale in the next three weeks,” said Nairobi Java House group CEO Paul Smith in an interview.

“On average, each branch takes up to Sh50 million in order to get it ready and up to the standards we have set. The Astrol branch in Nairobi will accommodate up to 140 customers at a go while the Diani Centre Point branch will accommodate up to 64 customers.”

Java Group, in which an American private equity firm has bought a majority stake, is the biggest restaurant chain in the region with 64 branches.

It is followed by fast-food brand Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Art Caffe restaurant and Subway. KFC has 31 branches — nine in Uganda, five in Tanzania and 17 in Kenya. Art Caffe, on the other hand, has 12 branches in Kenya. America’s fast-food chain Subways has 12 branches — eight in Kenya, three in Tanzania and one in Uganda.

ALSO READ: Uganda coffee house takes turf war to Java