Our story
Once Upon a Time in Bristol…
Joking. Here’s 25 years + of BTP in 10;
- Founded. Park Street, Bristol. 1995.
- Adamant businesses can be socially compassionate (bye bye corporate confines, hello independent spirit).
- Fast forward 10 years, Sam Roberts (CEO and Co-founder) takes the helm.
- Nothing. Changes. It’s all about scaling with the soul we started with.
- We crack on Making Things Better*, serving our communities 1000’s of mood-lifting breakfasts, brunches and coffees day-in day-out, kicking off 2016 with 17 cafes.
- 2018. Doing things the right (not the easy) way peaks. BTP BAN’S SINGLE USE CUPS, saving 125K from landfill in just one year.
- Fast-forward. Grind to a halt. Amongst the chaos of Covid, staying true to our founding morals meant we kept our heads above water and every single team member rode out the storm with us (zero redundancies).
- We crack on Making Things Better*, launch our very own charitable Foundation helping underprivileged teens who need a leg up in the hospitality industry.
- Drumroll. 2023. BTP SAVE OVER 900K SINGLE USE CUPS FROM LANDFILL.
- Here we are. A family of 23 cafes (and counting), dotted from Barnstaple to Birmingham, all still buzzin’ with indie feels.
*Making Things Better
Since the beginning, we’ve been in the business of doing things the right way. Our decisions, big or small, are conscience-led, it’s never about profit above all else.
In all that we do, we ask ourselves, are we Making Things Better?
No eye rolling please. We whole-heartedly assure you this is true and not just some spiel for our website. Ask any of the team in cafe and they will concur :)
We are committed to Making Things Better for the communities we serve, the people we employ and the planet we inhabit.
We believe every choice matters, from banning single use takeaway coffee cups (HUGE), to no longer coating our menus in laminated plastic (SMALLish).
Collectively we can change our world, Making Things Better, one choice at a time.
Are you in?
We hope so,
BTP x
Our choices
We’re pretty keen on the idea of leaving the planet in a better place than we found it. That means a commitment to making small positive choices every day and taking the greener route wherever possible. Over the years, those better choices have started adding up to some pretty big change.
Our community
We love community - feeling part of something, a shared sense of pride and passion for our local areas. It makes us tick and let’s be honest, our very existence relies on the support of the communities we serve. We work hard with our teams and customers to build on this sense of togetherness. If we can give back and wherever possible, make things better, we do.
Our Foundation
Giving back to our communities in a meaningful way is something we’re deeply passionate about. So we do - via The Boston Tea Party Foundation (est. 2020), a charity initiative funded by your takeaway hot drink habit.