This high-tech coffee shop wants to compete with Dunkin’ and Starbucks in Boston

There’s a new high-tech coffee shop about to open more stores in Boston — and the founders think so. It can replace your morning coffee routine.

Small shop front and unique Robot coffee machines, Empty Street Coffee wants to be the most convenient specialty coffee shop in town – all at a lower price than its competitors. The Brooklyn-based company, which launched in August 2020 and is backed by celebrity investors, plans to open four locations in Boston this year, starting in Beacon Hill on Thursday and then expanding to the Back Bay and South Boston next month.

Founders Issam Freiha and Vinay Menda started Empty Street after noticing that specialty coffee shops like Blue Bottle and Intelligence were growing, but for their everyday coffee, most Consumers still frequented brands like Dunkin’ and Starbucks because they were cheaper and more convenient.

Freiha and Menda believed that great tasting, quality coffee doesn’t have to come at a premium price. Their business model is based on small format stores located in urban neighborhoods and office districts.

At around 400 to 500 square feet, these stores are 75 percent smaller than traditional cafes and have no tables or chairs.

Inside, Empty Street doesn’t look like a typical coffee shop — baristas don’t pull espresso shots or frothy milk. Instead, Blank Street buys all of its lattes and cappuccinos and automatic espresso machines from Swiss company Everest, which makes oat milk.

“You can have the whole drink with the click of a button,” Freiha said.

This is intended to give. Baristas have more time to build relationships with customers; Only one or two are needed to run each store. The machines brew coffee faster than human baristas, which has allowed the company to reduce customer wait times. Customers can pre-pay and order through the Bare Street mobile app.

At $3.75, Empty Street claims a 12-ounce latte costs 25 percent less than other specialty coffee brands. (In Boston, George Howell Coffee on Washington Street charges $5.25 for a latte, and Ogawa Coffee on Milk Street costs $5.75.)

The promise to investors of technology-enabled premium coffee at an affordable price has raised $67 million for the startup. Last October, Empty Street raised $25 million in a round led by General Catalyst and Tiger Global. Then, three months later, he raised another $35 million.

Yangme Moon, a professor at Harvard Business School who sits on Bado Street’s board, says the company’s cafes are “equipped for a world where a lot of people come in, grab their drink and leave immediately, but they don’t want to leave.” Leave a quality and elegant brand aesthetic.

Bare Street does “a hundred little things” unlike other coffee shops to keep costs down, she said, “changing” the definition of operating economics.

Instead of mass-producing its own baked goods, for example, Empty Street partners with local businesses to sell items like cookies and croissants. In Boston, it will partner with Salem-based bakery A&J King.

As consumer habits change, many coffee chains are focusing on mobile ordering and opening pick-up-only stores. As the pandemic began, Starbucks accelerated plans to open more “Starbucks Pickup” stores in US cities and now has three in Massachusetts: in Cambridge, Boston and Medford.

Although coffee shops are designed for people to work, study or socialize for hours, the founders of Blank Street think young coffee drinkers want something different.

“Especially during the pandemic, we realized that many of our customers are people who drink coffee on the go,” Menda said.

The founders believe their brand will appeal to Gen Z and Millennial customers who buy coffee on the way to class or work. Their first Boston store was located in a former juice bar at 282 Cambridge St., across the street from Massachusetts General Hospital.

In September, Blank Street plans to open two more cafes, at 647 Boylston St. in the Back Bay and 489 East Broadway in South Boston. In October, the company will open a second Beacon Hill location in a former Starbucks location. On Charles Street.

An empty street, which does not describe his. Revenue or profitability numbers, it has about 70 corporate employees and 300 baristas. The company has about 30 locations in New York City and plans to reach 100 by the end of the year.

Anissa Gardizy can be reached at anissa.gardizy@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter. @anissagardizy8 And on Instagram @anissagardizy.journalism.