Costa Coffee trials 24-hour drive-thru in the UK

Costa Coffee’s Leicester Meridien East store | Photo credit: Costa Coffee

Costa Coffee is trialling its first 24-hour store at a drive-thru in Leicester, UK. 
 

In a press release, the UK’s largest coffee chain said it is exploring extended opening hours to cater for key workers and night-shift workers, including healthcare professionals and delivery drivers.  

The drive-thru at Costa Coffee’s Leicester Meridien East store will remain open overnight from 10pm-5am. The outlet’s normal dine-in 5am-10pm opening hours will remain unchanged. 

Costa Coffee will gather feedback from customers and the local community before deciding whether to roll out 24-hour trading across more of its 350 UK drive-thru sites. 

“Costa Coffee has always been at the heart of the community, and this trial is another way for us to serve our customers when they need us most. Whether it’s a late-night coffee run or picking up an early breakfast for commuters, our team is ready to deliver the Costa Coffee experience around the clock,” said Matt Harman, Regional Operations Director for North and Central England, Costa Coffee.  
Later opening hours could provide Costa Coffee with a value as-yet untapped revenue stream but often face opposition from local communities and police on the grounds of anti-social behaviour. In 2023, food-to-go and coffee chain Greggs won the right to open its Leicester Square outlet in London until 2am, Thursday-Saturday, following fears the store could lead to crime and disorder.

Nevertheless, the Newcastle-based chain has credited later opening hours with boosting revenues, with post-4pm sales now making up 8.8% of total transactions, and commenced its own 24-hour drive-thru store trial in March 2023 alongside a handful of airport locations. 

Founded in 1971, Costa Coffee currently operates over 2,670 stores and 15,000 self-serve Costa Express coffee machines in the UK. Drive-thru has become an important feature of Costa Coffee’s UK estate and has grown in prominence across the wider UK branded coffee shop market, where there are more than 800 sites.