Speed, simplicity and growth – the Blank Street story

Blank St Coffee Fascia

Let’s meet at the Blank Street Coffee by Tottenham Court Road. Which one? The brand has two within a minute of the station. Oh wait, now you say it, they’re everywhere. Blank Street Coffee, originally from Brooklyn, was launched in the wake of the pandemic in 2020. Fast-forward a year, and it had raised $67m from investors including Left Lane Capital, HOF Capital, General Catalyst and Tiger Global. Blank Street Coffee’s pitch? Faster, cheaper coffee than the average high street brand, and packaged up like a trendy independent.

By 2022, it had opened internationally, in Fitzrovia, and begun a monopoly-style acquisition across the city. Today, a mere four years later, the company has 87 sites spread across London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, New York, Boston and Washington DC. Blank Street Coffee has been averaging 12 site openings per year in the UK alone, snapping up prime sites in record time. 

I first visited one of its sites in King’s Cross, where it is conveniently located right by the station. At that point, I had noticed one or two shops from the outside but thought of it as a small boutique outfit. Going in, I was surprised at the conveyer belt experience and transactional service, but appreciative of the speed since I was in a rush. The coffee itself was so-so, not burnt or overly bitter, and the right amount of caffeine kick for my sensitive tastes. It doesn’t replace my local coffee visits, which give me more of a sense of community, indulgence and a bit of coffee alchemy. Blank Street Coffee is for a different occasion entirely – far more functional, a lot quicker and cheaper too. 

Its rapid growth is built on a foundation of speed, efficiency and distinctive pistachio-green branding. Alongside a number of other operators, including Leon and Roasting Plant, Blank Street Coffee’s speed is powered by Eversys automated espresso machines. A 2-Group retails around £30,000 and allows baristas to brew premium coffee or steam milk at the push of a button, reducing wait times and eliminating the need for highly trained staff. Blank Street Coffee also offers a selection of pre-mixed drinks such as cherry cold brew lattes, and incentivises pre-orders via its app, speeding service up even further. The drinks menu is focused and food minimal, making the proposition easy to understand and quick to order from. Simplicity that saves time, makes training easier and allows for superior cost control that more complex offers. 

The pricing strategy is somewhere between the Starbucks and Prets of this world, while offering two sizes rather than three at the former and one at the latter. Having done a quick tally at my local, it is pretty evenly split between those going for small or large, but the small price of £3.50 for a latte/flat white/cappuccino looks more reasonable next to the £3.90 large. 

It's easy to be snobbish about the coffee – see Eater NY article "The Oppressive Blah-ness of the Blank Street Coffee Chain", and there’s certainly something special about a perfectly crafted cup made by human hands. But the truth is, the UK market is just as addicted to milk as it is to coffee, and the milky coffees are, well, milky. As Blank Street Coffee co-founder Vinay Menda put it: "We don’t need to be the most amazing cup of coffee you’ve ever had. Instead, we want to be the really good cup coffee that you drink twice a day, every day."

For many customers, that’s enough. Offer consistency, speed, convenience and attractive design, and they are happy. As long as that’s the case, Blank Street Coffee will continue to rise... perhaps even to a corner near you.