Jaunty Goat on trail of further expansion with plans for new roastery

A Chester-based coffee business is aiming for further expansion this year, boosting its current 37-strong headcount.

Jaunty Goat, in Bridge Street, was launched seven years ago by Patrick White.

Since then, the 30-year-old has launched two more outlets – an animal-free vegan cafe of the same name in Northgate Street, and an independent bakery.

It will now add its own roastery to the business mix in the coming months.

Focused on providing customers with sustainable, quality coffee and outstanding service, Mr White is also intent on lowering the business’s carbon footprint by bringing the wholesale side of the business in-house.

He said: “Opening the bakery 12 months ago and now the roastery will enable us to produce everything ourselves and capitalise on opportunities which arose during the pandemic.

“An example is how we now operate a more restaurant-style table service, which has been a breath of fresh air and allowed us to increase our takeaway offering. We basically want to bring everything together and showcase the progress made in past years to a wider audience.”

He added: “We also looked closely at the wholesale side of the business and after visiting Costa Rica a few years ago, decided to roast our own coffee and import it directly from the farmers.

“We pay two or three times the market price, but it means they are treated fairly, we have more flexibility over production and with the roastery in place it will be a positive move from a logistical perspective.”

Supplying big names such as Hickory’s restaurants, Bar Lounge, The Hollies Farm Shop and Chester Zoo, Jaunty Goat sources coffee from across Central and South America, including Colombia, Costa Rica, and Brazil.

The new roastery will be based out of the Arches industrial units in Kitchen Street.

“Jaunty Goat was originally about creating a brand and a presence so I could share with people what great coffee is, and from there it just grew and grew,” said Patrick.

“The plan is to open more shops when the time and location are right – probably in Shropshire and the North West – to reach the next level and spread the word even further.

“Right now, we are in a good place, coming out of the pandemic with confidence and able to control our own destiny – we are very happy and excited to see how things progress.”

The business has been backed by law firm Mackenzie Jones, based in Chester, St Asaph and Menai Bridge. Patrick said: “In the past we’ve struggled to connect with the legal firms and accountants because they were very old fashioned and stuck in their ways, very different from the way we do things.

“That certainly hasn’t been the case with Mackenzie Jones, who have given us peace of mind and involved us in the process when making big decisions, especially during the pandemic.”

Mackenzie Jones director, Andrew Foley-Jones, said he was “heartened” to see how far the concept has come in such a short space of time.