Bewley's facts for kids
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| Limited | |
| Industry | Beverages |
| Founded | 1840 in Dublin, Ireland |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | Northern Cross, Malahide Road, Dublin, Ireland |
| Products | Coffee, tea |
| Revenue | €170 Million (2019) |
| Parent | Bewley's Ltd |
Bewley's is a famous Irish company that makes and sells hot drinks like tea and coffee. It started in Dublin, Ireland, way back in 1840. Today, Bewley's sells its products and runs cafes not just in Ireland, but also in the UK and the United States. In the US, you might know their cafes as Rebecca's Cafe in the Boston area or Java City in California.
Contents
A Look Back: Bewley's History
The Bewley family were Quakers, a religious group, who moved to Ireland in the 1600s. They became involved in the tea business. In 1835, Samuel Bewley and his son Charles brought over 2,099 chests of tea from Canton, China.
Later, the Bewley family also started selling coffee. In the late 1800s, they opened their first cafes in Dublin. One opened on South Great George's Street in 1894, and another on Westmoreland Street in 1896. The most famous Bewley's cafe, on Grafton Street, was opened by Ernest Bewley in 1927. This building was once a school where famous people like the Duke of Wellington and Robert Emmet studied.
In 1986, another company called Campbell Catering joined with Bewley's. By 1999, Bewley's had more than twenty cafes in Ireland and six in other countries. In 2010, about 800 people worked for the company worldwide. Bewley's also started using 100% recyclable cups in May 2018, which is great for the environment!
Bewley's Cafes Around the World
Bewley's Grafton Street: A Dublin Icon
Bewley's has had a cafe on Dublin's busy Grafton Street since 1927. Many people call it a "Dublin landmark." The building has a cool Art Deco style, which was popular in the 1920s and 30s. Its front is decorated with a special mosaic that looks like ancient Egyptian art. This style is quite rare in Dublin. The building was designed by a Dublin architecture company called Millar & Symes.
Inside, you can see beautiful stained glass windows made by famous artists. Harry Clarke created windows showing different styles of architecture. These are on the ground floor towards the back. Another stained glass window by artist Jim Fitzpatrick was moved to Grafton Street from another Bewley's cafe that closed. A third window by Pauline Bewick, called Cafe Society, is also in the Grafton Street store. The building was updated a lot in 1995.
The Grafton Street cafe closed for a while between November 2004 and May 2005 for repairs. It closed again in February 2015 for even bigger renovations. After a long time, it finally reopened in November 2017. This huge project took "1000 days" and cost millions of euros.
In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced the Grafton Street cafe would close permanently. This meant 110 people would lose their jobs. However, in late July 2020, it was announced that the cafe would reopen gradually.
Harry Clarke's Stained Glass Windows
There was a legal case about the Harry Clarke stained glass windows in the Grafton Street building. The company that rented the building said the windows were artworks they could sell. But the building's owner said the windows were part of the building itself. In July 2024, the Court of Appeal decided that all six windows were indeed part of the building. This meant they could not be sold by the tenant.
Bewley's in the US and UK
Bewley's expanded to the United States in 1997. They bought a chain of cafes called Rebecca's Cafe in the Boston area. In 2000, they grew to the west coast by buying the Java City brand.
The company also entered the UK market in 2011. They bought a coffee supplier called Darlington's. Later, they acquired Bolling Coffee in 2013 and a food service distributor called Peros in 2015.
Past Bewley's Locations
Bewley's used to have other cafes in Dublin city centre. These included locations on Fleet Street/Westmoreland Street (now a TGI Fridays) and Mary Street. They also had a temporary cafe on South Great Georges Street while the Grafton Street location was being renovated.
You could also find Bewley's cafes at Dublin Airport's Terminal 1, inside some Waterstones bookstores, and in the Arnotts department store. There were also branches in Belfast and Bangor.
Some Bewley's cafes were run by franchise operators in suburban shopping centres. These included Nutgrove, The Square, Tallaght, Omni Park, Stillorgan Shopping Centre, and the old Dundrum Shopping Centre. Some of these had been run directly by the company before. Franchised locations also existed in Belfast and Portadown, but they closed in 1996.
Bewley's Hotels
For a while, there was a chain of hotels called Bewley's Hotels. These hotels used the Bewley's name in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. They were owned by Slaney Foods and the Moran Hotel Group.
This agreement to use the Bewley's name for hotels ended by mid-2015. This happened after the Moran Bewleys Hotels were sold to the Dalata Hotel Group.
One of the main hotels in the chain was in Ballsbridge. It was in a beautiful old building that used to be a Masonic school from the 1800s. Today, this hotel is known as the Clayton Hotel, Ballsbridge. You can still see some of the original Masonic symbols in the building's decorations.
More to Explore
- List of coffeehouse chains
- Dick's Coffee House
