South African café chain Bootlegger plans 16 new stores in rapid rollout

South African café chain Bootlegger Coffee Company is stepping up its South African expansion, with the privately owned café franchise planning to open about two stores a week over the next two months. The rollout would add at least 16 locations, as the company puts the finishing touches on its latest site at Paarl Mall ahead of its opening this week.

Ricky Ruthenberg, Bootlegger’s group CEO, said the expansion reflects an intense fourth-quarter push involving new Bootlegger stores, selected Ou Meul locations and several renovations. He said the company is also entering the period with a strong 2027 pipeline already confirmed, underscoring the planning required to sustain its rapid store rollout.

Expansion gains momentum

“We’re opening approximately two Bootlegger stores a week for the next two months, plus some strategic Ou Meul stores and a couple of renovations,” Ruthenberg said. He described the pace as “really incredible,” while highlighting the work behind the company’s growing development pipeline and the expansion of its internal design capabilities.

Bootlegger has also identified several potential locations for future openings across South Africa, including Springbok, Laphalale, Pietermaritzburg and Mossel Bay. Ruthenberg said the opportunities span the company’s different formats, suggesting that its expansion strategy is being built around a mix of locations rather than a single store model.

From roastery to franchise

Longtime friends Pieter Bloem, De Waal Basson, and Antonie Basson—already seasoned operators across restaurants, bakeries, and cafés—founded Bootlegger out of routine frustration. As early-morning cyclists, they consistently struggled to find quality coffee before 6:30 a.m., inspiring them to build a brand anchored in specialty brews and early hours.

The founders imported a small Giesen roaster from the Netherlands in 2012 and began experimenting with coffee roasting. In late 2013, they secured a lease on Regent Road in Sea Point, Cape Town. The site was too large for a roastery alone, leading the founders to develop it into a full-service restaurant and coffee bar.

A wider café footprint

Bootlegger Sea Point launched its signature Bootlegger Blend in November 2013, quickly building a following for its coffee and broader café offering. Under Ruthenberg’s leadership, the company has since expanded across South Africa, growing from its original Sea Point operation into a national franchise business with more than 120 stores as of 2026.

The company operates two main café formats: the larger All Day Café and the smaller XS Café. Beyond its core coffee business, Bootlegger also operates a grill in Constantia and an ice cream parlour in Muizenberg, both in Cape Town, giving the group additional formats through which to extend its hospitality footprint.

Building beyond coffee

Bootlegger has built its brand around specialty-grade coffee, a broad menu and a distinctive café environment, while incorporating sustainability into its operations. Its full-size stores also feature a line from an AC/DC song displayed in neon, an element that has become part of the brand’s visual identity and helps distinguish its locations.

The latest expansion push comes as Bootlegger continues building its physical footprint while investing in the capabilities needed to support future openings. Ruthenberg said the company’s design function has evolved from an outsourced operation into a nine-person in-house team, reflecting the increasing scale and complexity of its store development program.