Ground opens new outlet in Portadown

Northern Ireland's largest independently-owned artisan coffee chain Ground Espresso Bars has announced a multi-million pound expansion plan, which includes the opening of a new outlet in Portadown.
Ground Espresso Bars has opened a new outlet at the old Pump House, Portadown.Ground Espresso Bars has opened a new outlet at the old Pump House, Portadown.
Ground Espresso Bars has opened a new outlet at the old Pump House, Portadown.

Ground has undergone significant growth in recent years across Northern Ireland and opened its first store in the Republic of Ireland in 2015. This next stage in the company’s aggressive expansion plans will see three new stores open before Christmas, representing an investment of over £400,000 and creating over 40 new full and part time jobs in local communities and three jobs at Ground’s head office in Ballymoney.

The new stand-alone sites include the old Pump House in Portadown - part of a £400k regeneration scheme on the River Bann - Laganbank Retail Park, Lisburn and Victoria Square shopping centre, Belfast. The new stores will position a Ground in every county in Northern Ireland and bring the company’s total number of coffee shops to 23.

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The new store in Portadown officially opened on Friday, November 10.

Further expansion will continue next year with two new stores in the pipeline for Dublin, an exciting new store in Newry and four stores already confirmed in Scotland, all of which will be in partnership with Next plc, who Ground has been working with since 2014. These new locations will see the company’s concessions with Next stores double in 2018.

A further four stand-alone Ground Espresso Bars are also planned for Scotland along with several new locations in Northern Ireland.

Commenting on the expansion, Operations Director Karen Gardiner said: “This is a really exciting time for Ground as we embark on our second major expansion within three years. We are looking forward to opening more stores locally and in the Republic of Ireland, and are thrilled to be launching our brand in Scotland with both stand-alone stores and concession stores within Next plc. Our partnership with Next plc has gone from strength to strength over the last two years and we look forward to continued success and to expanding the Ground team further throughout the UK and Ireland.”

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Ground currently employs over 250 staff across 20 stand-alone stores and concessions and is renowned for its quality coffee, ethically conscious principles and locally-sourced produce, all of which owners Karen and Darren Gardiner attribute to the brand’s ongoing success.

For further information about Ground Espresso Bars click on www.groundcoffee.net