No-nonsense pub group JD Wetherspoon is to open an hour earlier across the UK to serve its customers coffee and breakfast.
The group plans to take on fancy espresso bars and takeaway chains by offering traditional fry-ups, muffins and lattes.
After a successful trial in 40 pubs, each of Wetherspoon’s 610 sites will open for business at 10am from 24 September.
Chairman Tim Martin predicted high street competitors would be watching the move with trepidation and joked: “It’s good night, Starbucks.”
Food sales across the Wetherspoon chain have rocketed in the last decade and climbed 10% on a like-for-like basis in the past year.
The growth helped pretax profits across the Watford-based group jump 21% to £53.6m in the 12 months to 28 July.
Martin said: “The economics of opening earlier for pubs are very good as we have already paid the rents and the overheads.
“If we can make it work, it could be very successful. And if 10am is successful, then why not open earlier, say at 9am?”
EGi News 06/09/02
