Coffee Fellows, one of Germany’s most highly regarded craft coffee shop concepts, has reached a milestone in the company’s 24-year history with the opening of its first U.S.-based store, at 4900 Bissonnet Street in Bellaire, Texas on June 14, 2023 at 7am. The flagship US location will welcome and inspire guests into a cozy European coffee house experience featuring lovingly hand-crafted, sustainably-sourced coffees, teas, bowls, breakfast offerings, salads, fresh bagel sandwiches and pastries.
Three additional locations are scheduled to open late summer and early fall in the Houston area in Katy, River Oaks and Houston Heights. An ambitious growth plan calls for 10-25 additional locations in Houston, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio in 2024 and 2025, with continued rollout beyond Texas to follow. The expansion is being carried out through Coffee Fellows North America Corp.
Coffee Fellows heart beats to excellent coffee and transparency of origin of their coffee beans, a core tenant to their mission alongside sustainability, sourcing and locality. As they enter the Houston market, Coffee Fellows understands the importance of a sense of place. The use of local ingredients and vendors including a local roastery, locally sourced ingredients and environmentally friendly practices being their foundation.
“We are excited to bring our European coffee concept to the United States as well as open our first ever drive-through stores, to better serve American urban communities,” said Dr. Stefan Tewes, CEO of Coffee Fellows. “We plan to customize our menu offerings to suit American preferences, but guests can anticipate the comfortable, friendly European ambiance our brand is known for, and feel confident in the mission of sustainability that is close to our hearts and is part of everything we do,” he said.
CEO of Coffee Fellows North America Daniel Ogbonna will work alongside Houston hospitality veteran, COO Chris Fannin, known for his success as president of Common Bond Bistro & Bakery and tenure with the Strip House and Capital Grille. “Houston is a coffee-loving town, and we are excited that Coffee Fellows’ US expansion is starting here,” said Fannin. “We are pleased that we’ll be roasting our coffee and sourcing our produce locally, to create a fresh, original menu that supports the community,” he said.
Coffee Fellows was founded by Kathrin and Stefan Tewes in Munich in 1999. Coffee Fellows currently operates 230 stores in Germany and Europe, as well as several stores in Mongolia. It also operates 18 outlets across Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland
