The first Coffee Mania outlet has opened at Cardiff’s new £35m (US$50.8m) Mermaid Quay retail and leisure development.


The brainchild of Paul Chandler and Sarah Thomas, former restaurant manager at Cardiff’s St David’s concert hall, the Coffee Mania outlet is expected to be the first of a chain which will extend to Cardiff city centre, Bristol and Bath.


Chandler, former head of catering at the Cardiff International Arena, commented that the 95m² unit has an advantage over more established coffee shop chains such as Coffee Republic and Starbucks, because it also serves food and alcohol.


The outlet offers 85 covers, 40 of which are outside, and has been set up on a 15-year leasehold.