The company while based in Oakland, California soon expanded to other areas around the country. Blue Bottle first expanded to several cafés in locations around San Francisco, including the Ferry Building and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's rooftop garden. The company operates 91 stores as of January 2020, with locations in California, New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Seoul, Kyoto, Kobe, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
History
W. James Freeman founded Blue Bottle Coffee in the early 2000s in Oakland, CA, borrowing the name from one of Europe's first cafes, The Blue Bottle Coffee House. His intention was to roast coffee in small batches to sell within 24 hours of roasting, initially as a home-delivery service. Blue Bottle soon ceased deliveries and opened as a traditional cafe. Blue Bottle opened additional locations in San Francisco and elsewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, and then opened its first New York location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 2010. The company-owned stores carry off-menu items such as the "Gibraltar", a form of cortado. In 2012, Blue Bottle received $20 million in venture capital investment. In January 2014, Blue Bottle raised $25.75 million in new round of funding. In 2015, Blue Bottle completed a venture capital round in which it raised $70 million+ from investors led by Fidelity. Since its inception, the company has raised $120 million from investors. In September 2017, Nestle S.A., the world's largest food and drinks company, acquired a majority stake of Blue Bottle. While the deal's financial details were not disclosed, the Financial Times reported "Nestle is understood to be paying up to $500m for the 68 per cent stake in Blue Bottle". Blue Bottle expected to increase sales by 70% in 2017. In September 2018, Blue Bottle Coffee opened its first location in Kobe, Japan. In May 2019, Blue Bottle Coffee opened its first location in Seoul, South Korea. In December 2019 Blue Bottle Coffee announced they would test eliminating disposable cups at some their shops in an effort to increase sustainability efforts, with the goal being zero waste within one year. In April 2020, Blue Bottle Coffee opened its first location in Hong Kong. Amid COVID-19, the cafe opens from 8am to 5pm daily for takeaway for the time being, with no exact dates for dining in to be introduced till further notice.
