How a Dad’s idea developed into a thriving family business.
In 1994 Steve Fitzpatrick was a salesman working in London, selling coffee door to door in a coffee marketplace very different to the one we know today. Speciality coffee was in its infancy and espresso machines were few and far between. Instead, filter coffee was popular because of its simplicity, ease of use and a general acceptance of lower quality coffee. On the occasions his customers did use an espresso machine he noticed that the machines were usually in poor condition.
Before his sales career Steve had worked in the Laundry Rental Market and before that he had studied engineering and mechanics at college.
It was this combination of experience and knowledge that led to the idea behind Coffee Cup Equipment. The idea was to buy an espresso machine and rent it to a customer who would benefit from an all-in rental service including the installation and maintenance of the equipment.
One happy customer led to another and based on word of mouth the business began to grow. Each year, he strove to maintain our reputation by doing whatever it took to keep the coffee flowing and our customers smiling, because they knew that when they needed our help we would be there quickly with the solution.
28 years later and our service is still based around Steve’s initial idea; we continue to focus on our reputation and level of service to grow our business through word of mouth and recommendations from coffee roasters.
What has changed since the mid-nineties is the coffee market itself. With espresso machines on every high street, skilled baristas now serve coffee, roasted and brewed to the highest of standards. To say that coffee has improved would be an understatement. It’s this ever-improving standard of coffee that we have evolved with, resulting in the service we provide today.
As coffee has improved, so has our equipment. We now provide a wide range of espresso machines and grinders from La Marzocco, Wega, Rocket Espresso, Victoria Arduino & Mazzer. Whether you are a small café or restaurant, chain of coffee shops or pubs, or would like to serve better coffee in your offices, we have you covered. No stone is left unturned in choosing the right equipment for your business. Once installed, should anything go wrong with the equipment, our team of specialist engineers is ready to go, usually on site in a couple of hours.
But it’s not only good coffee and equipment that make a great flat white for your customer. It’s also important that the barista knows how to use the equipment to serve the coffee to its potential and keep your customers coming back. That’s why our Full Care Service now includes unlimited barista support. It doesn’t matter why our customers need us – it could be an equipment breakdown or it could be an inexperienced barista that just needs some advice – the fact remains that when our customers need us, we are ready to help.
Steve never dreamed that Coffee Cup Equipment would become a successful family business that his two sons, Mike & Andy would be running today, embodying the same all-in service and customer-first work ethic that their dad started with almost 30 years ago.
Today we continue to lead the way with our honest, friendly, personable approach, providing a hassle-free way for all types of businesses to serve good coffee.