Cuppacoffee Is Expanding to Boylston Street

Cuppacoffee on Merrimac Street, Photo via Cuppacoffee/Facebook

UPDATE, April 14: Cuppacoffee’s Boylston Street location will open this Monday, April 18.

Cuppacoffee Boylston st will open marathon monday @bostonmarathon #YIKES pic.twitter.com/tJZd3oiikL

— CUPPACOFFEE Boston (@cuppacoffeeMA) April 14, 2016

PREVIOUSLY:

On the heels of opening a larger, second location inside the Troy Boston building in the South End, Boston-based, Down Under-themed coffeeshop Cuppacoffee is putting the finishing touches on a third location at 699 Boylston St.

Owner and Sydney native Todd Moore said he has “a helluva lot on his plate” with the near-back-to-back openings, but he has always had an eye on expanding since opening his flagship cafe in Downtown Crossing in 2013. “I wasn’t really expecting [to find a third location so soon], but it was an opportunity that came up, and who’s to say I don’t want to be on Boylston Street?”

The new cafe is similar in size to Cuppacoffee’s flagship on Merrimac Street (read: tiny). The downtown branch has a few counter seats looking out the window, but at only about 240 square feet, the Back Bay branch will be entirely quick-service without any seating. Located near the Boston Marathon finish line, the building was damaged when the bombs went off in 2013, Moore said. In the ensuing years, boutique gym BFX studio moved in and renovated the building, and Moore is looking forward to sharing an atrium entrance with that active clientele.

Cuppacoffee’s focus is Australian-style espresso drinks, including cappuccino “with chocy powder on top,” ristretto, long black (Americano), and Oceania favorite, flat white. “We also do drip coffee, because we’re not insane. Americans love drip coffee. If I was in Australia, there wouldn’t be drip coffee,” Moore said. “Us coming here and doing what we do, we obviously looked at the markets in Boston.” In that vein, his shops offer cold-brewed iced coffee year-round, as well as flavored iced coffees. There are also teas and soft drinks.

The food menu will include muffins, bagels, and Australian treats, including lamingtons and Caramello Koalas. Cuppacoffee is also known for meat pies and sausage rolls, which are baked every morning and sold hot. “The lines in Back Bay to get food are ridiculously long. Our average transaction can be done in quite a few seconds, from grabbing a coffee and being able to hand a pie out that’s ready to go,” Moore said.

The restauranteur’s goal was three cafes in three years—check—and as he builds his brand around Boston, he’s also laying groundwork to eventually franchise Cuppacoffee, Moore said.

“If I’m looking at a neighborhood, South End or Downtown or Back Bay, they’re all very different economic groups. We’ve got to make sure our brand understands all those different markets,” he said. He has his eye on the Kendall Square area for his next cafe, but he’s in no hurry.

But then again, he didn’t think Back Bay would happen so quickly, either. The cafe will open “this side of the year,” Moore said.