Brad & Dills

What Brad & Dills does

Brad & Dills is an independent, founder-owned coffee and bagel house operating five physical retail locations in England — two in Harpenden (The Park and The Cottage), plus Market Square in Hertford, Swift in St Albans, and The Hill in Hampstead. Founded by an operator known publicly as Sesame Steve, the brand positions itself as a local, design-conscious alternative to chains, with a tight menu built around eight signature bagel recipes (Egg 'n' Cheese, Sausage & Bacon, Classic Salmon, Vegano Picante, Lebaneasy, Pollo Picante, Reuben, Englishman) paired with freshly ground Brazilian Single Origin coffee. Locations offer varying degrees of indoor seating (from ~4 seats at The Cottage to fuller-capacity sites), and the company runs dog-friendly, child-friendly, WiFi-enabled shops with vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options.

The commercial model blends in-store dine-in and takeaway as the core revenue stream with multiple incremental lines: third-party delivery via Deliveroo and Uber Eats, a Square-powered online collection ordering site, retail sale of BAD Coffee beans (250g and 1kg from £11.50), Square-issued digital and physical gift cards, bookable Sunday roasts via OpenTable, late-night pizza/beer events at Swift, and a corporate catering channel accessed by email inquiry. Marketing is primarily organic — the Squarespace-hosted website, social content, and event-driven repeat visits — with no disclosed paid acquisition or loyalty-tech stack beyond a manual points card.

The business is privately held and bootstrapped, with no external investors, no parent company, no funding rounds, and no public financial disclosure. Headcount is ~20 across the five sites, and the operating footprint is concentrated in Hertfordshire and north London — affluent commuter towns with high foot-traffic potential. Technology footprint is intentionally lean: Squarespace for the web estate, Square for payments and POS, OpenTable for reservations, and standard delivery marketplaces for off-premise orders. There is no proprietary technology, no app, and no AI/ML capability disclosed.

Name

Brad & Dills

Legal name

Brad & Dills

Website

https://bradanddills.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Brad & Dills is a founder-owned independent coffee and bagel house operating five UK retail sites in Harpenden, Hertford, St Albans, and Hampstead, serving local consumers with bagels, coffee, retail beans, gift cards, catering, and weekend events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee and Bagel Café

NAICS

Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Coffee Adjacent Beverage Bars (Chai, Cacao, Alternative Lattes) (THAFAKAH)

Keywords

• Specialty coffee shop
• Bagel sandwiches
• Cafe food service
• Coffee retail beans
• Corporate catering

Headquarters

HQ city

Harpenden

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Food and Beverage Sales: In-store sales of coffee and bagel menu items across four physical locations. Core revenue stream from dine-in and takeaway customers.
2. Delivery and Collection Orders: Third-party delivery orders via Deliveroo and Uber Eats platforms. Customers can also order ahead for collection via the company's own ordering site.
3. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including house coffee beans (Brazilian Single Origin) in 250g and 1kg sizes priced from £11.50.
4. Catering Services: Corporate and event catering services offered via email inquiry to [email protected].

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Brad & Dills is an independent specialty coffee and bagel house operating five UK physical retail locations, selling freshly prepared bagel sandwiches (eight signature varieties) paired with freshly ground Brazilian Single Origin espresso-based coffee to local consumers. Revenue is generated through in-store dine-in and takeaway sales, third-party delivery via Deliveroo and Uber Eats, online collection ordering, retail coffee bean sales (BAD Coffee 250g/1kg), gift cards, corporate catering, and hosted events such as Sunday roasts and late-night evenings.

Product overview

Brad & Dills is an independent coffee and bagel house operating as a single unified brand with multiple physical locations. The core offering consists of freshly prepared bagel sandwiches in eight varieties (Egg 'n' Cheese, Sausage & Bacon, Classic Salmon, Vegano Picante, Lebaneasy, Pollo Picante, Reuben, and Englishman) paired with freshly ground Brazilian Single Origin coffee including flat whites and decaf options. The business extends its brand through retail merchandise including BAD Coffee beans sold in 250g and 1kg sizes, gift cards, and catering services. Evening and weekend events including late-night pizza/social gatherings and Sunday roasts are hosted at select locations, with online ordering available through Deliveroo and Uber Eats delivery platforms and Square-powered gift card purchases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bagel Menu Freshly prepared bagel sandwiches available in eight signature varieties (Egg 'n' Cheese, Sausage & Bacon, Classic Salmon, Vegano Picante, Lebaneasy, Pollo Picante, Reuben, Englishman) with customization options including added bacon or tripled cream cheese, sold in-store, for takeaway, via delivery, and for collection.
• Coffee and Espresso Drinks Freshly ground espresso-based coffee drinks made with Brazilian Single Origin beans, including flat white and decaf options with oat milk available, served across all five UK locations and via delivery.
• BAD Coffee Retail Beans House Brazilian Single Origin coffee sold as whole or ground retail beans in 250g and 1kg sizes, priced from £11.50, available through the company's online merch store.
• Catering Service Corporate and event catering services for meetings, office gatherings, and private events, arranged through email inquiry to [email protected] with quote-based pricing.
• Gift Cards Digital and physical gift cards redeemable across Brad & Dills locations, ordered online via Square or purchased in-store.
• Late Night Events and Sunday Roasts Hosted evening events featuring pizza, meats, cheeses, cocktails, wine, and beer at Swift (St Albans) on Fridays and Saturdays 16:00-21:00, plus Sunday lunch roasts bookable via OpenTable at participating locations.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DeliveroocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDelivery partnership enabling customers to order bagels, soft drinks, and coffee beans for home delivery via the Deliveroo platform.
• Uber EatscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party delivery partnership for bagels, soft drinks, and coffee beans.
• OpenTableminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReservation platform partnership for Sunday Lunch bookings at their venues.
• SquarecoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing and point-of-sale technology provider. Also powers their online store, collection ordering system, and gift card platform.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Notes Coffee: Independent UK specialty coffee roaster and café operator with multiple sites. Comparable specialty coffee offering, café retail format, and independent brand building, though with a stronger wholesale roasting arm.
• WatchHouse: London specialty coffee and café operator with multiple locations and a focus on design-led, independent-craft positioning. Comparable on specialty coffee-led café format, London-centric multi-site footprint, and premium neighborhood targeting.
• Grind: London-based specialty coffee and all-day dining chain with multiple sites and a strong independent-craft brand identity. Comparable on café format, specialty coffee positioning, urban London footprint, and event/evening programming.
• Gail's Bakery: UK bakery and café chain serving artisan breads, pastries, coffee, and light meals across numerous London and southeast locations. Highly comparable operating model: café-retail hybrid with neighborhood focus, coffee-led daypart, and emphasis on craft/quality positioning.
• Beigel Bake: Iconic London bagel bakery operating 24/7 from Brick Lane. Comparable on bagel-led product, high-volume urban location, and independent heritage, though more bakery-retail than café-seating format.
• The Bagel Factory: UK bagel-focused quick-service chain serving bagels, coffee, and breakfast items at multiple UK locations. Directly comparable product (bagel-led menu), counter-service café format, and multi-site UK retail presence.
• SAID London: London bagel and deli shop serving specialty bagel sandwiches with a London café vibe. Directly comparable product-led bagel concept, dine-in café format, and London urban customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Pret a Manger: Major UK fast-casual café chain offering coffee, sandwiches, salads, and grab-and-go food at hundreds of locations. Broader incumbent with overlapping customer occasions (breakfast/lunch coffee + food) but vastly greater scale and corporate backing.
• Costa Coffee: UK's largest coffee chain with thousands of sites. Comparable on coffee-led retail format and UK footprint, but operates as a mass-market incumbent rather than independent-craft specialist.
• Caffè Nero: Major UK and European specialty coffee chain. Overlaps on espresso-led café format and UK neighborhood presence, but competes at much larger scale with broader menu and corporate backing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bradanddills

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Brad & Dills