High street café chain with 600 branches that open shop doors 24 hours a day
A major chain of high street cafes will open a 24-hour store later this year.
Caffe Nero will open its first ever 24-hour drive-thru at Stanstead Airport in the spring.
The popular café chain, which according to many coffee lovers is 'better than Costa and Starbucks', already has more than 600 branches.
The new store will be located just 450 meters from the main terminal building on the main road to and from the airport.
When the drive-thru branch opens at London Stanstead Airport, customers will have a choice of five outlets at this location.
Caffe Nero is the fourth largest coffee chain in Britain, behind other big names such as Costa and Starbucks.
The chain may rank fourth in terms of size, but many coffee lovers believe it ranks first in terms of taste.
We checked out a number of online forums and the chain is the “go-to” for many when it comes to getting their caffeine fix.
A discussion on Quora asked: “Where is the best place to get coffee in the UK: is it Starbucks, Caffe Nero or Costa?”
One person said: “Caffe Nero first, Costa second and Starbucks a distant third”.
Another agreed, saying: 'Caffe Nero, Costa and then Starbucks.
A third person added: “From that choice I would recommend Caffe Nero but I would choose Starbucks next.”
Gerry Ford, founder and CEO of Caffe Nero, said: “I am thrilled that we are opening our first drive-thru store in the world.”
He added that the store is an “experiment” that will allow Caffe Nero to expand its store format and will be a “template” for future drive-thru stores.
Other chains have also opened new 24-hour stores for customers who want to get their caffeine fix at any hour of the day.
Bakery giant Greggs has around 2,300 locations across the country, six of which are open 24 hours a day.
All are airport locations, including Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Gatwick.
Greggs has also extended the opening hours of around 500 stores to 8pm or later and opened more drive-thru locations.
It currently has at least 17 drive-thru stores across the country and plans to open 10 more.
Meanwhile, Costa has closed a number of branches, leaving fans furious.
However, many were sweetened again with the chance to win a slice of cake for just £1.
Starbucks fans were also thrilled in December when eight new food and drink options were added to the menu.