CAFES, STORES & BARS
HIGH QUALITY RETAIL SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE DAY
Our customers often work unusual hours in physically and mentally demanding jobs. Our retail concepts have been developed to ensure they get the refreshments they need whenever and wherever they need them.
From taking a break with a coffee, grabbing a meal on the go, picking up some household basics or ending the day with a pint, our cafés, stores and bars are designed to provide just what’s required.
CAFES OFFERING MORE THAN JUST COFFEE
A café stop punctuates the day. It's a much-needed break, a chance to catch-up with colleagues and friends, have an informal business meeting, grab a quick bite to eat or just spend a moment alone in the company of others.
We provide environments that fuel these experiences and have created accessible and flexible formats for our clients. These range from self-service pods, branded coffee shops and café bars to combined café-stores, which provide food and drink together with everyday necessities.
We partner with high street favourites Costa and Starbucks and social enterprise Change Please, as well as serving our own Peak Street Fairtrade coffee brand, giving our customers access to the most popular coffee choices around and food and drink that meets a range of tastes.
STORES DESIGNED FOR TODAY’S CONSUMER
STORES DESIGNED FOR TODAY’S CONSUMER
Customer needs and expectations are constantly evolving, so we’re always looking for new ways to deliver stores that provide a more tailored experience.
Our stores meet a wide variety of shopping missions with hot and chilled fresh food to go, hot and cold beverages, carefully selected ambient, chilled and frozen ‘food for later’ ranges, as well as non-food items.
Our customers have limited breaks in their working day, so we’ve embraced self-service technology to speed up service, and introduced café-stores so people can enjoy a break and shop for essentials from a combined footprint.
We work with leading high street brands to ensure we offer a comprehensive retail experience.
Click here to walk through our latest store…
STORES DESIGNED FOR TODAY’S CONSUMER
Customer needs and expectations are constantly evolving, so we’re always looking for new ways to deliver stores that provide a more tailored experience.
Our stores meet a wide variety of shopping missions with hot and chilled fresh food to go, hot and cold beverages, carefully selected ambient, chilled and frozen ‘food for later’ ranges, as well as non-food items.
Our customers have limited breaks in their working day, so we’ve embraced self-service technology to speed up service, and introduced café-stores so people can enjoy a break and shop for essentials from a combined footprint.
We work with leading high street brands to ensure we offer a comprehensive retail experience.
BARS THAT PROVIDE A SPACE TO RELAX AND SOCIALISE
We collaborate with our clients and supply partners to develop bar offers that meet a wide range of requirements and encourage people to spend time with colleagues and friends.
Whether customers want to relax with an alcoholic drink, enjoy a soft drink or order a bite to eat, our bars are an ideal destination.
We stock a range of traditional and artisan drinks, and our food menus include meals and snacks which are served throughout the day and into the evening.
We also support our clients with designing great facilities, incorporating contemporary décor, comfortable furniture, large screens and activity areas.
HIGH STREET BRANDS, BUT NOT ON THE HIGH STREET
Our customers may be located outside of town centres, but that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy the same experience. We work with major brands, and upcoming partners, to deliver a flavour of the high-street.
From Costa to Subway, we offer fully franchised outlets with all the products that our customers expect, right down to the near legendary Greggs vegan sausage roll! New brands like Stacked Sandwich Makers provide great alternatives to our regular products and expand the choices on offer.
When it comes to our stores, we stock an array of household names and provide value for money through own brand products from the Co-op.
RETAIL FORMATS THAT OPERATE 24/7
In recent years, we’ve invested heavily in self-service technology which gives our customers access to high quality, nutritious food, drinks and snacks 24/7.
We offer a range of round-the-clock retail formats, from self-service cafés, hosted at peak times but available throughout the day and night, to micro-markets stocking grab and go products and self-service stores carrying food for now as well as ingredients and basic household provisions.
We also provide vending solutions to suit a range of requirements, from more traditional units to innovative smart markets that combine branded products with our own made-in-house items.
Whatever the scenario, we’re experienced in working collaboratively with our clients to meet their specific needs.
CUTTING EDGE FRICTIONLESS TECHNOLOGY
We’re at the forefront when it comes to frictionless technology.
We’ve introduced a fully frictionless store at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, the first of its kind on the UK Defence estate, giving our customers access to the latest innovation being deployed on the high street.
The store utilises AI-powered computer vision technology which allows customers to purchase items without having to wait in line or stop to scan or pay. They simply tap a contactless card when entering, select their purchases and leave.
We’ll be introducing similar stores into several client sites over the coming year.
COLLECTION AND DELIVERY VIA THE ESS APP
The ESS App is designed to enhance the customer experience by providing information about our services, rewarding loyalty and offering secure, integrated cashless payment.
During the pandemic, our customers’ requirements shifted, and we added click & collect and click & deliver services to the app to ensure continued access to our food and drinks.
We’ve built on this service and now provide collection and delivery services across much of our estate, with specially developed menus in some locations.
SOCIAL VALUE
Our retail services have been designed with our communities in mind and this ethos extends to our supply partners.
We’ve partnered with Change Please social enterprise coffee which supports people experiencing homelessness into housing, training and employment. As well as serving Change Please coffee, we’ve placed graduates from its programme into roles within our business.
We work with a large network of local suppliers, with our stores stocking products sourced from the surrounding areas, and we stock a range of items sourced from social enterprise suppliers who prioritise community or environmental objectives.
