COLUMBUS, Ohio,U.S. — Columbus, Ohio coffee roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea has opened its fourth international coffee shop in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The new Crimson Cup Coffee House Dhanmondi South is located at Rangs Fortune Square, House 32, Road 2 in the city’s Dhanmondi area. It joins Crimson Cup Coffee Houses in the Banani and Dhanmondi neighborhoods.
“We’re excited to open a second Crimson Cup Coffee House in the Dhanmondi neighborhood of Dhaka,” said Founder and President Greg Ubert. “The managing directors, managing partners and investors have created another inviting space for Dhanmondi coffee lovers to enjoy espressos, café mochas, lattes and other coffee drinks.”
Crimson Cup Bangladesh is a joint project of Managing Directors Mohaimin Mostafa and Rehanur Rahman and Managing Partners Tareq Rafi Bhuiyan and Ayesha Rawshan Bhuiyan.
“Dhanmondi is a huge residential area with a multicultural population, and our existing shop in Dhanmondi 27 was not sufficient to keep up with demand,” Mostafa said. “Our second outlet in Dhanmondi makes it much easier for customers to reach us.”
Crimson Cup Coffee House Dhanmondi offers a wide range of handcrafted hot, iced and frozen espresso drinks as well as hot and iced teas. The shop also features a brew bar, where baristas hand-pour craft coffees discovered during Crimson Cup’s sourcing trips all over the world. Fresh-baked pastries round out the menu, and customers can also buy bags of fresh-roasted beans to brew at home.
Mostafa said the Crimson Cup Mocha, served hot or frozen, is the most popular drink among younger customers. More mature customers prefer traditional cappuccino and café latte drinks.
Mostafa and the Bhuiyans enjoyed Crimson Cup coffee while studying at The Ohio State University in Columbus. When planning for their chain of coffee houses, they reached out for support through Crimson Cup’s 7 Steps to Success coffee franchise alternative program.
Based on Ubert’s book, Seven Steps to Success in the Specialty Coffee Industry, the program teaches prospective business owners all they need to open a coffee shop. Hands-on consulting covers everything from writing a coffee shop business plan and finding the right location to choosing equipment, hiring and training staff, attracting customers and more.
As part of the 7 Steps program, the new shop’s team of managers and baristas underwent five days of intense training with Crimson Cup 7 Steps Trainer Steve Bayless and Innovation Lab Ambassador Nate Bell to prepare for the opening.
“We love every single aspect of Crimson Cup: the service standard, the quality of beans, relationships with farmers, the volunteer work for the community, new product ideas and so much more,” Rahman said.
After opening four coffee houses since 2015, the Crimson Cup Bangladesh team continues plans for expansion. Managers are looking for locations in the cities of Sylhet and Chittagong, the resort city of Cox Bazar, and other sections of Dhaka, including Mirpur. They are also exploring development opportunities in India, Nepal and Thailand.
